Department for Transport

Transport: Research

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the value of research and development to the (a) transport industry and (b) Government’s industrial strategy.

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to introduce targets for research and development in transport as part of the Government’s wider industrial strategy.

Joseph Johnson: The Industrial Strategy states “In this strategy we commit to reach 2.4 per cent of GDP investment in R&D by 2027 and to reach 3 per cent of GDP in the longer term, placing us in the top quartile of OECD countries”. There are no plans for specific transport targets as part of the wider industrial strategy. However, the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge aims to secure Britain’s position as a leader and innovator in transport.

Railways: Tree Felling

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he or Ministers of his Department have to meet Sir William Worsley, the UK national tree champion, to discuss Network Rail’s vegetation policy.

Joseph Johnson: My department has commissioned an independent review to look at Network Rail’s approach to vegetation management. The Chair of the review, John Varley, will meet the Government’s Tree Champion, among others, to gather evidence for his report.

Transport: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure there is greater connectivity between Northern Ireland and the Great Britain mainland; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: The UK Government fully recognises the social and economic importance of improving connectivity across all parts of the UK and endeavours to work closely with devolved administrations where there are areas of cross-border interest. We engage with the Northern Ireland Administration regularly on connectivity.

Bridges: Irish Sea

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) stakeholders on a potential bridge between Northern Ireland and Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: Transport in Scotland and Northern Ireland is a devolved matter and any plans for a bridge between Northern Ireland and Scotland would fall to the Northern Ireland Executive and the Scottish Government.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Keir Starmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in total, how many applications have been made to the HS2 Business and Local Economy Fund; and how many of those applications have been successful.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: There have been ten applications to the HS2 Business and Local Economy Fund to date. Of these, five are in the smaller category (£10,000-£75,000) and five are in the larger category (£75,001 and above). The larger category has a two stage process: Expression of Interest stage and Stage 2. Of the five smaller applications, two have been approved (totalling £148,785), two are in the process of being assessed by Groundwork UK and one was unsuccessful. Of the five larger applications, one was encouraged through to Stage 2 of the process (i.e. invited to submit a full application), one is in the process of being assessed by Groundwork UK and three were unsuccessful.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Keir Starmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received from (a) not-for-profit and (b) other organisations eligible to apply for the HS2 Business and Local Economy Fund on the eligibility criteria for that fund.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department for Transport has no record of having received representations from (a) not-for-profit or (b) other organisations eligible to apply for the HS2 Business and Local Economy Fund on the eligibility criteria for that fund.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Keir Starmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with HS2 Ltd on ensuring that eligibility criteria for the Business and Local Economy Fund is not unnecessarily restrictive and that appropriate organisations are able to access that fund.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The eligibility criteria for the Business and Local Economy Fund (BLEF) were established prior to the Fund’s launch in January 2017, following collaboration between officials at my Department, HS2 Ltd, Groundwork UK and the Independent Panel.The criteria are based on best practice in the grant making sector and are designed to ensure the right balance has been set between safeguarding public funds and maximising the quality and quantity of applications in pursuit of the Fund’s objective: to add benefit over and above committed mitigation and statutory compensation to support local economies that are demonstrably disrupted by the construction of HS2.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Keir Starmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is considering a review of the Business and Local Economy Fund eligibility criteria to maximise the ability of appropriate organisations such as not-for-profit and non-statutory bodies to access the grants available.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The objective of the Business and Local Economy Fund (BLEF) is to add benefit over and above committed mitigation and statutory compensation to support local economies that are demonstrably disrupted by the construction of HS2.Organisations and groups are eligible to apply for funding if they are formally established for public benefit, are not-for-profit and can show that they meet the minimum requirements for safeguarding public money. Both statutory and non-statutory bodies may apply.My officials meet regularly with HS2 Ltd, Groundwork UK and the Independent Chair of the BLEF to monitor progress and ensure its objective is being met. To this end, all elements of the Fund (including eligibility criteria) are kept under regular review.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Keir Starmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications have been made to the HS2 Need to Sell Scheme from urban areas; and how many of those applications have been (a) accepted and (b) rejected.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Information is only held in respect of Need to Sell (NTS) applications for each individual phase of HS2 without distinction as to whether a property is located in an urban or rural area. Information could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost. We also consider that disclosing low numbers of applications would identify individuals whose property was purchased under the NTS scheme and those applicants have an expectation that this information would remain confidential.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Keir Starmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will compel HS2 Ltd to publish the internal guidance used by the independent panel of professionals to assess applications under the HS2 Need to Sell scheme including the section on the assessment of a compelling reason to sell.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Guidance issued to the independent panel which assess applications made under the HS2 Need to Sell scheme has been published and is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/568959/Need_to_sell_scheme_-_panel_guidancev.pdf

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Keir Starmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the clarifications called for by the House of Lords Select Committee on the High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Bill on the interpretation and application of the compelling reason to sell condition of the HS2 Need to Sell scheme have now been made; and if he will make a statement.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Guidance was republished on the Need To Sell (NTS) scheme in August 2017 in light of recommendations made by the House of Lords Select Committee. The guidance provides more detailed information on the types of compelling reasons applicants may have to sell their property, and examples of the documentary evidence that should be provided to support each element of their application. The guidance has subsequently been reviewed on several occasions, most recently in June 2018, to ensure the scheme remains transparent and guidance is accessible. Statistics are also published on examples of compelling reasons cited within unsuccessful and successful NTS applications which are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-phase-one-exceptional-hardship-scheme-applications-statistics

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Keir Starmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the determination of a compelling reason to sell under HS2’s Need to Sell scheme involves a means-test of the applicant and their immediate family members.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The financial circumstances of an applicant to the HS2 Need to Sell (NTS) scheme, or an immediate family member, would be examined only if relevant to an application. The NTS scheme panel require a summary of an applicant’s compelling reason, or reasons, to sell with each element of their case being supported by documentary evidence.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Keir Starmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will compel HS2 Ltd to make available, if necessary, in redacted form, summaries of and explanations for the decisions made on applications under the Need to Sell scheme.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: As confirmed in its response to the Phase 2b property scheme consultation, published in July 2017, the Government has concluded that publishing individual decisions would lead to an unacceptable risk of individual applicants being identifiable, even following redaction. We are committed to keeping this area under review. We have made available more detailed guidance and statistics on compelling reasons to sell within successful and unsuccessful applications in order to better support applicants.

Railways: Public Holidays

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Northern Rail and Transpennine on the provision of services on Boxing Day 2018; and what the outcome of those discussions was.

Joseph Johnson: The Rail North Partnership has had discussions with the operators regarding the provision of Boxing Day services for 2018. At this time, following the announcement yesterday regarding the timetable for the December change date, we are unable to confirm the plans for Boxing Day in 2018.

Railways: North of England

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress is being made on plans for electrification of the trans-pennine railway line.

Joseph Johnson: The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Transport: Annual Reports

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what date he plans to publish his Department's annual report and accounts for 2017-18.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Railways: Franchises

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2018 to Question 132026 on Railways: Franchises, if he will place an updated copy of the contracted franchise payment profiles for all train operating companies in the Library before the summer recess.

Joseph Johnson: The Department has reviewed the contracted franchise payment profiles and concluded that this information is commercially sensitive and so cannot be placed in the Library.

Heathrow Airport

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Oral Answer of 5 July 2018, Official Report, column 473, what steps he plans to take to ensure that it will not be possible to change those slots to long-haul destinations.

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Oral Answer of 5 July 2018, Official Report, column 476, what steps he plans to take to ensure that 15 per cent of slots set aside for regional connections are set in stone.

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his oral contribution of 5 July 2018, Official Report, column 473 and column 476, whether 15 per cent of the new slots available as a result of the expansion of Heathrow airport will be reserved for the domestic flights; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant his oral contribution of 5 July 2018, Official Report, column 476, how many additional (a) landing and (b) take off slots will be made available for domestic flights.

Jesse Norman: Maintaining and enhancing domestic connectivity should be one of the key benefits of any expansion at Heathrow. It will ensure new connections, increased frequency and greater competition for domestic routes, so that the whole of the UK benefits from the Government’s decision to support a third runway at Heathrow.The Government has set a clear expectation that about 15 per cent of slots made available through expansion at Heathrow Airport will be used for domestic flights, and it has identified the tools to make this happen. As part of this, it expects around 100 additional flights per week between Scotland and Heathrow once new capacity is delivered.If new capacity coupled with the commercial incentives offered by Heathrow does not meet these expectations, then the Government will ring-fence slots at appropriate times of day and provide financial support through exemption from Air Passenger Duty. All of these measures can be delivered through the use of Public Service Obligations.The Government will put in place Public Service Obligations on an airport-to-airport basis. This new approach is consistent with existing EU regulations, and, for the first time, it will allow the Government to provide protection for flights that are specifically to Heathrow. In addition, the Government will consider the introduction of unfunded Public Service Obligations to Heathrow Airport. This would provide a safeguard for domestic connections, but without direct cost to the taxpayer.The Government’s approach to domestic connectivity will be set out in a Green Paper on the Aviation Strategy, to be published towards the end of this year.

Intercity Express Programme

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the economic contribution of the Intercity Express Programme to the (a) UK, (b) North East and (c) South West.

Joseph Johnson: Rail services are a vital part of the economy and the Intercity Express Programme is part of the national programme of modernisation works taking place on our railways that will improve the experience of rail users and stimulate economic growth across the UK. The Intercity Express Programme has led to Hitachi investing in a state of the art facility at Newton Aycliffe which has created over a 1000 new jobs in the North East and supported thousands more in the UK supply chain. We expect the programme’s benefits to be realised once all the Intercity Express trains are in service on the Great Western and East Coast mainlines in 2020.

Railways: Manufacturing Industries

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has held (a) meetings and (b) discussions  with business groups in the North East on support for rail manufacturing.

Joseph Johnson: Departments publish quarterly details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations on GOV.UK. These can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dft-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings

Great Western Railway: Standards

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received on delays and overcrowding experienced by commuters on the Great Western Railway (GWR) from Bristol to London; what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that GWR improves its service; and what mechanisms his Department has in place to scrutinise the delivery of that service against its contractual obligations.

Joseph Johnson: The Secretary of State receives letters, Parliamentary Questions and Freedom of Information requests from MPs, Peers, stakeholders and passengers about Great Western Railway performance. Great Western Railway has agreed a change to its franchise agreement to include a new obligation to implement a performance improvement plan. The plan includes a wide range of activities across the whole franchise area to improve performance for passengers. Ministers have discussed GWR performance with senior representative from FirstGroup. Officials meet Great Western Railway regularly to discuss progress on the plan.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of trends in the number of qualified HGV drivers in the road haulage industry for each year since 2010.

Jesse Norman: The Office of National Statistics publishes figures of employment by occupation, based on the Labour Force Survey, a household survey. The estimates for numbers of professional large goods vehicle drivers each year based on surveys between April and June are as follows:YearUK total in employment in standard occupation classification 8211 (large goods vehicle drivers)2010285,0002011299,0002012290,0002013259,0002014285,0002015299,0002016315,0002017302,000 The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency record the number of vocational tests passed. Records for 2010 to 2017 are: YearTotal number of test passes2010212682011246352012246342013256792014284862015372052016436432017418672018 to 31/0310053

Road Traffic Control: Seaham

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions Highways England has had with Durham County Council on traffic management on Seaton Lane, Seaham, and its effect on road safety and congestion on the A19.

Jesse Norman: Highways England is aware of queuing on A19 southbound off slip for Seaham, but do not consider that it raises safety or wider operational concerns at present.They have, however, been liaising with Durham County Council, developers and other key stakeholders to help improve traffic management at Seaton Lane, Seaham. As part of the planning process for proposed developments in the area, improvements to the local road network will need to be implemented.

Road Traffic Control: Seaham

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make funding available to improve road safety and relieve traffic congestion at Seaton Lane, Seaham.

Jesse Norman: Seaton Lane is part of the local road network and is the responsibility of Durham County Council. The Department for Transport funds local road improvements by providing an annual integrated transport block grant to local authorities and by contributing about £7 billion towards the £12 billion Local Growth Fund, which Local Enterprise Partnerships can use to fund highway improvement schemes. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government are working with Sunderland City Council to develop its bid to the Housing Infrastructure Fund. If successful, this would support the delivery of around 3,000 additional homes in South Sunderland and Durham, and will include funding for Durham County Council to improve the junction of the B1404 Seaton Lane and the B1285 Stockton Road.

Large Goods Vehicles: Weight Limits

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, further to the new arrangements introduced by the Government on volumetric concrete mixers, outlined in the Government’s response to its consultation on goods vehicle operator licensing exemptions and related regulatory changes, and with reference to the letter from Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Roads, Local Transport and Devolution on the regulation of mobile concrete batching plant – decision on operating weight arrangements, issued in April 2018, what financial impact assessment his Department carried out before those decisions were made.

Jesse Norman: The decision was made that volumetric concrete mixers would continue to be subject to the standard legal weight limits. The Department does not in general conduct impact assessments on the application of existing legal requirements. We have listened to the industry’s concerns about the time needed to come into compliance, and we have put in place a temporary arrangement which will allow some operation above the standard legal weight limits for a ten-year period.

Large Goods Vehicles: Weight Limits

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, further to the new arrangements introduced by the Government on volumetric concrete mixers, outlined in the Government’s response to its consultation on goods vehicle operator licensing exemptions and related regulatory changes, and with reference to the letter from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Roads, Local Transport and Devolution on the regulation of mobile concrete batching plant – decision on operating weight arrangements, issued in April 2018, what environmental impact assessment was carried out before those decisions were made.

Jesse Norman: The decision was made that volumetric concrete mixers would continue to be subject to the standard legal weight limits. The Department does not in general conduct impact assessments on the application of existing legal requirements.

Railways: North East

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to support the growth of the rail supply chain in the North East.

Joseph Johnson: The Department supports the Rail Supply Group which is the only rail body to have both members from Government and the private sector, focusing on supporting and enhancing the rail supply chain, from small-medium enterprises to multi-national companies across the UK. The Rail Supply Group works on behalf of the UK rail supply industry as a whole.

Rolling Stock

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the economic benefit for the (a) North East and (b) UK of UK-based manufacturing of new rolling stock in the last five years.

Joseph Johnson: The UK has a healthy and competitive rolling stock market that continues to deliver valuable benefits for both passengers and industry.

Rolling Stock: North East

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contracts for manufacturing rolling stock in the UK there have been in each of the last five years; and what assessment he has made of the effect of such contracts on the North East.

Joseph Johnson: A table is attached that sets out all UK rolling stock orders in each of the last five years. No assessment has been made of their effect on the North East, however the health and competitiveness of the UK rolling stock market means that these trains will deliver valuable benefits for both passengers and industry across the country. Hitachi have been successful in winning large orders for new trains in both Scotland and England, and these are being assembled in their factory in the North-East. These orders are providing employment and opportunities for the local supply chain.

Cross Country Trains: North of England

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is the Government's policy that Cross Country train services from the north of England should continue to connect with Brockenhurst and Bournemouth without the need to change trains; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: The Department launched a public consultation for the Cross Country franchise on the 7th June. We want passengers to give us their views on the next franchise. We do not want to prejudge responses so I would encourage you and your constituents to respond to the consultation. The closing date for the consultation is 30th August. The link to the consultation is www.gov.uk/government/consultations/cross-country-rail-franchise. Feedback from this consultation will be used to help the department specify the next franchise.

Railways: Cost Effectiveness

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the cost benefit ratio of (a) HS2 and (b) the Missing Link solution in Gloucestershire; and if he will make a statement.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The last business case for HS2 was published in 2017 and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-phase-two-economic-caseIt showed that the full network has a benefit to cost ratio of 2.3. This means that for every £1 invested, HS2 will generate more than £2 in economic benefits, constituting high value for money. The A417 “Missing Link” route options were brought to public consultation in February – March 2018. The two routes taken to consultation had a Value for Money range from low to poor, and Benefit Cost Ratios of 1.04 and 0.68. Highways England are currently undertaking further development of the scheme detail and assessment of the routes’ VfM.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Spaceflight

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent progress his Department has made being made on establishing a site for a UK space launch facility.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Our Industrial Strategy recognises the role of new markets like space launch in driving growth across the UK. The Government is delivering a major programme to enable companies to offer small satellite launch and sub-orbital spaceflight from UK spaceports. The UK Space Agency has considered 26 proposals for grant funding to kick-start satellite launch and spaceflight operations in the UK. On Monday we announced £31.5 million in funding to enable satellites to be launched from Sutherland, Scotland, which aims to be the first vertical spaceport to launch satellites into space from mainland Europe. Alongside this, we have also announced plans, subject to business case, for up to £2 million of funding for airports such as Newquay, Glasgow Prestwick and Snowdonia planning to build the market for horizontal spaceflight using air-launched rockets and sub-orbital spaceplanes.

Global Navigation Satellite Systems

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the (a) cost and (b) liabilities to the public purse of developing a UK alternative to the EU Galileo satellite navigation system.

Mr Sam Gyimah: My rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced in May that the Government is developing options for a domestic satellite navigation system as a contingency measure in the event that the European Commission and EU27 Member States do not offer acceptable terms for continued UK participation in Galileo. Initial analysis undertaken in partnership with UK industry indicates that a UK Global Navigation Satellite System could cost between £3-5 billion over a ten-year build phase. In a subsequent steady state period, the annual operating and replenishment cost for a UK system is estimated to be comparable with the expected cost of continued UK participation in the Galileo programme (around £200m per annum). Further analysis and study is ongoing with UK industry in order to provide greater clarity on the options for a UK GNSS, the costs and benefits and the start date of full services. During this early study phase of the programme, no significant liabilities have arisen.

Business: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the amount of funding allocated from the public purse to  businesses in Coventry to encourage (a) economic growth and (b) employment.

Richard Harrington: Government is actively encouraging economic growth and employment in Coventry via a number of policy initiatives and funding. As part of Coventry & Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s (CWLEP) Growth Deal, government is investing £131.84 million in the locality. The LEP simplifies and coordinates access to business advice and support through CWLEP Growth Hub. In 2017/18, the government provided £328,000 to CWLEP to enable the Growth Hub to support local business growth and has committed to provide similar amounts in 2018/19 and 2019/20. More widely, Innovate UK in 2016/17 invested £30.4 million to stimulate innovation and growth in the West Midlands. And the Midlands Engine Investment Fund will facilitate investment of over £250 million across the Midlands to help SMEs to achieve their growth ambitions, revitalise local economies, and create jobs.

Railways: North East

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of a rail sector deal to the North East.

Richard Harrington: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Pay

Dame Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of pay between assignment (PBA) contracts on equal pay; what the average length of time workers have been on PBA contracts in the most recent period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Harrington: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Financial Reporting Council Independent Review

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the terms of reference of the Independent Review of the Financial Reporting Council 2018, if he will publish summary meeting notes for all meetings of that review.

Richard Harrington: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Yemen: War Crimes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the allegations of war crimes made against the Houthis in Taiz, Yemen; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: ​We are concerned by reports of alleged International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations by the Houthis, including attacks on civilians and blockages of humanitarian aid in Taiz. We have regularly addressed our concerns about the Houthis' compliance with IHL in Parliament, most recently on 3 July in the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee.

Yemen: War Crimes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he made of allegations of war crimes made against the Houthis during the conflict in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: ​We are concerned by reports of alleged International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations by the Houthis, including attacks on civilians in Aden and Taiz; intimidation of UN ships attempting to dock at Aden; the use of schools and hospitals for military purposes; the use of child soldiers; and the targeting of aid workers and restrictions on humanitarian access. We have regularly addressed our concerns about the Houthis' compliance with IHL in the Parliament, most recently on 3 July in the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee.

Balkans: Conferences

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reason the Moldovan Head of Government was not invited to the Western Balkans Summit in London on 10 July 2018.

Sir Alan Duncan: The 10 July Western Balkans Summit in London was the fifth convened under the Berlin Process launched by Chancellor Merkel in 2014. The fourteen Berlin Process Leaders were invited to the Summit. Moldova is not a member of the Berlin Process so was not invited. Prime Minister Tsipras was invited to the Summit to brief, alongside Prime Minister Zaev, on the Name Issue agreement. Prime Minister Borissov was also invited given his hosting of the 17 May EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia.

Nicaragua: Politics and Government

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to support international mediation in Nicaragua.

Sir Alan Duncan: I have been clear with the Nicaraguan government in a meeting of 3 July, that for stability to return the government must take responsibility for ending the violence and the inclusive dialogue promised by the authorities should proceed under peaceful conditions.I have expressed deep concern about excessive use of force by the government including the use of live ammunition and human rights abuses reported by the Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the UN. I welcome the government's invitations to the IACHR, the UN, and the EU to support resolution of the crisis.

Nicaragua: Politics and Government

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Nicaraguan Government on recent developments in that country.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​I have been clear with the Nicaraguan government in a meeting of 3 July, that for stability to return the government must take responsibility for ending the violence and the inclusive dialogue promised by the authorities should proceed under peaceful conditions.I have expressed deep concern about excessive use of force by the government including the use of live ammunition and human rights abuses reported by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the UN. I welcome the government's invitations to the IACHR, the UN, and the EU to support resolution of the crisis.

Embassies: Members

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the procedures are for (a) an hon. Member and (b) a member of hon. Member's staff making direct contact with staff in an embassy or high commission when the welfare of an individual constituent is concerned.

Harriett Baldwin: ​We offer a dedicated hotline for MPs and their staff who have consular enquiries regarding the welfare of individual constituents. Calls to this hotline are picked up by an in-house Consular Contact Centre, who offer 24/7/365 assistance. These calls are immediately escalated to the appropriate consular team in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London.

Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to increase support for the peace process in Sudan through discussions with (a) the opposition and (b) civil society groups.

Harriett Baldwin: Supporting the peace process is one of the key objectives of the UK’s policy in Sudan. Our Ambassador in Khartoum, Special Envoy based in London and colleagues across the region are actively engaging all sides – Government, opposition and civil society – to make progress towards a lasting peace. As well as political engagement, we provide financial support the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP), Darfur Community Peace and Security Fund, and the Sudan Taskforce for the Engagement of Women in the Peace Process.

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made on the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Communiqué entitled Towards a Common Future published on 20 April 2018.

Alistair Burt: As Chair-in-Office, the UK is working with Commonwealth partners to ensure the delivery of commitments set out in the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) communique and to build a Commonwealth which is fairer and more prosperous, sustainable, and secure.The Commonwealth Secretariat and Commonwealth Member States have already made good progress in the two months following CHOGM. For example:· The Commonwealth Secretariat convened, and the UK chaired, the first Senior Trade Officials Meeting to agree the framework for implementation of the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda for Trade and Investment;· Vanuatu, which co-Chairs the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance with the UK, became the first country in the world to enact a ban on the manufacture and sale of single use plastic bags, polystyrene takeaway boxes, and plastic drinking straws. Indian Prime Minister Modi has announced a ban of all single use plastics, which will come into effect in 2022;· The UK and the International Trade Centre launched SheTrades Commonwealth in Kenya to enable the increased participation of women-owned businesses in international trade; and· Thérèse Coffey MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment and Rural Life Opportunities, hosted Commonwealth High Commissioners to discuss ambitions and expertise in tackling plastic pollution, and provide more detail of the UK support available to them to help them reduce plastic pollution in our Oceans under the Commonwealth Blue Charter.

Nigeria: Conflict Prevention

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his French and other European counterparts on the conflict in Nigeria between Fulani herdsmen and farming communities; and what diplomatic steps they are taking to reduce the conflict and protect communities.

Harriett Baldwin: Officials have discussed this issue with US, French, German and other EU colleagues who share the British Government's deep concern. We continue to raise this issue with the Nigerian Federal and State Government and to call on them to bring the perpetrators of violence to justice and to develop solutions which meet the needs of all communities to prevent further violence.

British Nationals Abroad

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of UK citizens living in (a) Germany and (b) France.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office can not make an estimate of the number of UK residents in Germany or France. We are aware that other organisations, including the UN and the Office for National Statistics do make such estimates. We no longer ask British nationals overseas to register with the nearest Embassy or Consulate.

Mexico: Religious Freedom

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations the Government has made to the Mexican Government on freedom of religion in that country.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 21 May 2018 (PQ144863).

British Overseas Territories

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government plans to change the constitutional arrangements between the UK and the British Overseas Territories.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Brexit

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral contributions of the Prime Minister of 9 July 2018, on leaving the EU, Official Report, column 714, what progress has been made in stepping up preparations for a possible no deal with the EU on resolving the issue of the disputed jurisdiction of Lough Foyle and Carlingford Lough.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Government's position on Lough Foyle and Carlingford Lough has not changed. The regulation of activities in Lough Foyle is the responsibility of the Loughs Agency, a cross-border body established under the Belfast Agreement of 1998. We remain fully committed to these arrangements and continue to work closely with the Irish Government over improvements to the management of the Loughs.Like the Irish Government, we do not anticipate these issues forming part of the negotiations over the UK's exit from the European Union.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on the case of Nazanin Zahari-Ratcliffe since his appointment as Foreign Secretary, and if he will make a statement.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has plans to seek diplomatic protection for Nazanin Zahari-Ratcliffe.

Alistair Burt: We remain very concerned about all our dual nationals detained in Iran. We continue to raise their cases with the Iranian Government at every opportunity, and make decisions in line with what we believe will produce the best outcomes in their cases. However, we will not be providing a running commentary. We judge this will not be helpful, or in the best interest of each case.

Iran: Visits Abroad

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have plans to visit Iran.

Alistair Burt: ​I have regular contact with my Iranian counterpart, both in the UK and overseas. As Minister responsible for the UK's relations with Iran, I last visited Tehran on 29 April this year. During that visit I had a constructive meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and met him again in Vienna 6 July. I hope to be able to visit again in the coming months. The Foreign Secretary hopes that the opportunity to travel to Iran will arise in the future but he does not currently have any firm plans to visit.

India: Christianity

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of recent attacks upon Christians in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Mark Field: ​We are aware of reports of attacks against Christians in Tamil Nadu. We condemn any instances of discrimination because of religion or belief, regardless of the country or faith involved. In support of minorities, the British High Commission in New Delhi, our network of Deputy High Commissions, as well as Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in London, maintain a continuous assessment of the human rights situation across India.

British Indian Ocean Territory: Ilois

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will deposit in the National Archives the Registers of Births, Deaths and Marriages for the Chagos Archipelago between 1884 and 1971.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Southern Rhodesia: Civil Servants

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to pay the pension arrears owing to the former members of HM's overseas civil service who remained at their posts after Southern Rhodesia became independent.

Harriett Baldwin: The Zimbabwe Government recognised their legal obligation to pay for pensions of former Southern Rhodesia civil servants in a letter from the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare on 28 October 2016. Representatives from the British Embassy in Harare regularly raise the requirement of the Government of Zimbabwe to pay these pensions with the Zimbabwean Government and will continue to do so.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Immigration: EU Nationals

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether a new Independent Monitoring Authority to monitor citizens’ rights will be established by 29 March 2019.

Mr Robin Walker: A new Independent Monitoring Authority will monitor how the Citizens’ Rights provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement are implemented and applied in the UK, helping to provide certainty to EU citizens in the UK. Its powers will have effect from the end of the implementation period. The Withdrawal Agreement and Implementation Bill, which will implement the final Withdrawal Agreement with the European Union, will make provision for the establishment of this independent monitoring authority. We will come forward in due course with more details about the shape of this new authority, but we are clear that it will need to receive complaints from EU citizens and their family members; conduct its own inquiries into alleged breaches of Part Two of the Agreement by administrative bodies; and institute legal proceedings to seek an adequate remedy. The IMA will publish an annual report to the specialised Committee for Citizens’ Rights, (sitting under the Joint Committee governing the Withdrawal Agreement).

Brexit: Northern Ireland

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether under the proposals agreed by the Cabinet at Chequers on 6 July the Government’s proposed backstop for Northern Ireland will be permanent or time limited.

Mr Robin Walker: The proposals agreed by the Cabinet at Chequers on 6 July for the UK's future relationship with the EU, and if agreed to in negotiations, would ensure that the backstop solution as part of the Withdrawal Agreement would not need to be brought into effect. It has always been the UK Government’s intention to address our commitments on the Irish border through the future relationship and these proposals show how we can do so.

Department of Health and Social Care

NHS: Equipment

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the arrangements for central purchasing of non-medical equipment in the NHS are; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: Individual National Health Service hospital providers - NHS trusts and foundation trusts – are responsible and accountable for their own purchasing decisions of non-medical and medical equipment and all other supplies. However, the Government has put in place a range of initiatives to help NHS bodies make informed choices about the products and the route through which they are bought and thus deliver improved value for money for the NHS. NHS bodies can use a number of routes for procurement, including:- Framework agreements negotiated on behalf of all Government bodies by the Crown Commercial Service;- National framework agreements negotiated on behalf of the NHS by NHS Supply Chain (NHSSC);- Regional agreements negotiated by, or on behalf of, NHS regional collaborative; and- Local agreements negotiated by individual NHS bodies. A new NHSSC model is being introduced, bringing together 11 expert procurement specialist teams to deliver high quality, clinically assured goods at the best possible price. This new operating model aims to increases national leverage of spend which will lead to lower costs and simplification of the number of products used across the NHS. The new NHSSC is aiming for an 80% market share of NHS goods supplied compared to the current 40%.

Rare Diseases: Medical Treatments

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Government has made of the merits of the single technology appraisal process for evaluating gene therapies for rare diseases.

Steve Brine: We have made no such assessment. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has not evaluated any gene therapies through its technology appraisal programme. NICE published highly specialised technologies guidance recommending use of Strimvelis, a gene therapy, for the treatment of adenosine deaminase deficiency–severe combined immunodeficiency in February 2018.

Medical Treatments

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Government has made of the merits of innovative funding arrangements for new products with a high upfront one-off costs for example gene therapy and car-T therapies.

Steve Brine: NHS England is engaging with a number of manufacturers of cell and gene therapies to explore alternative funding models. These discussions are taking place within the scope of NHS England’s remit to consider commercial propositions:- where the net budget impact is forecast to exceed £20 million in any of the first three years of routine commissioning once the company has established a cost effective price with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE);- for drugs entering the cancer drugs fund; and- for highly specialised technologies. Commercial propositions are developed on a case by case basis respecting longstanding industry agreements with the National Health Service on commercial confidentiality to ensure they offer the best outcomes for patients and taxpayers compared to alternatives. NHS England’s approach takes into account available evidence on outcomes from treatments, the nature of the market place, international approaches to pricing, NICE recommendations and rules for reimbursement in England, and the data and administrative burden for the NHS in ensuring such arrangements can be effectively transacted. This approach has also been informed by the findings of work led by NICE on exploring the assessment and appraisal of regenerative medicines and cell therapy products and the subsequent observations about implications for commercial arrangements. NHS England is working in close collaboration with clinical stakeholders, service providers, NICE and drug manufacturers to ensure patients can benefit from these innovative technologies in a safe, cost-effective and affordable manner. These new treatments pose complex new challenges in terms of new service delivery and funding models and require an approach which recognises the potential but uncertainty surrounding the clinical evidence due to the novelty of these treatments and how the associated risks can be shared between both parties.

Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department’s priorities are for the next Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a new medicines fund in the 2019 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme using the rebates from that scheme to ensure uptake of new branded medicines in the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it a priority for his Department during the next Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme negotiations to increase uptake of new branded medicines.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has had made of the potential merits of raising the 2019 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme exemption threshold for smaller companies.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of reintroducing a taper for smaller companies into the next Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to undertake an assessment of the effect on smaller companies of any changes introduced in the next Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme.

Steve Brine: The Government is committed to supporting the United Kingdom life sciences industry and ensuring that patients can access cost-effective innovative medicines and technologies at a price the National Health Service can afford. We have been listening to industry feedback and discussing how the medicines market is likely to evolve over the next five years. These discussions have now moved into a more formal phase and are commercially sensitive. The Government will update Parliament if and when agreement is reached.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what policies he plans to bring forward to enable more hospitals to meet the targets on waiting times for (a) A&E treatment, (b) cancer treatment and (c) planned operations and care.

Stephen Barclay: The Government’s Mandate to NHS England for 2018-19 is clear that it is to maintain and improve performance against core patient access standards including accident and emergency (A&E), cancer and planned operations and care-Referral to Treatment (RTT). The Government expects the National Health Service to deliver the actions set out in the NHS Planning Guidance for 2018-19 – in full – as key steps towards fully recovering performance against core access standards. This means treating a quarter of a million more patients in A&E, halving the number who have the longest waits for treatment and working towards reducing the number of patients waiting overall. We gave the NHS top priority in the 2017 budget with an additional £2.8 billion of funding for the NHS between 2017-18 and 2019-20, and this has been reflected in the mandate. To provide the NHS with financial stability, the longer-term plan, announced last month will see NHS funding increase by £20.5 billion per year by 2023/24, the end of the first five years compared with today.

Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress he has made on the implementation of Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: In 2017, NHS England and NHS Improvement announced that the most mature sustainability and transformation partnerships (STPs) would evolve to become ‘integrated care systems’. Over the past year we have seen real progress, with the first group of these systems becoming operational in April. At NHS England and NHS Improvement’s board-in-common meeting in May, it was announced that another four STPs would become integrated care systems in 2018-19: Gloucestershire, Suffolk and North East Essex, West, North and East Cumbria, and West Yorkshire and Harrogate.

Obesity: Children

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to (a) launch and (b) conclude each of the consultations announced in Chapter 2 of the Childhood Obesity Plan.

Steve Brine: The consultations announced in chapter 2 of the childhood obesity plan will be launched before the end of 2018. Further details will be available later this year. ‘Childhood obesity: a plan for action, chapter 2’ is available at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/publications/childhood-obesity-a-plan-for-action-chapter-2

Brain: Tumours

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department plans to allocate to brain tumour research in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated to brain tumour research in each of the last five years.

Caroline Dinenage: In May the Government announced £40 million over the next five years for brain tumour research as part of the Dame Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission. Funding will be invested through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to support a wide range of research from early translation (experimental medicine) through clinical and on to applied research. We are relying on researchers to submit high-quality research proposals in this difficult area. To encourage such applications we have released an NIHR Highlight Notice on brain tumour research calling for proposals across a range of NIHR research funding programmes. Total spend over the last five years is shown in the following table: 2013/142014/152015/162016/172017/18Total£3,417,427£4,271,133£3,699,965£3,151,001£3,966,299£18,505,826

Department of Health and Social Care: Living Wage

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans for his Department to become accredited by the National Living Wage Foundation.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department pays above the Living Wage (as defined by the Living Wage Foundation) to directly employed members of staff and agency staff that are also sourced via the Crown Commercial Services Framework Contingent Labour One (CL1). The Department does not have plans to become accredited by the Living Wage Foundation.

NHS: Crimes of Violence

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle abuse of NHS staff by (a) patients and (b) relatives of patients.

Stephen Barclay: National Health Service organisations are responsible for tackling abuse of staff by patients and relatives of patients. They should have agreements in place with their local police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure appropriate action is taken against perpetrators and they already have access to accredited security management specialists as well as advice, guidance and good practice.The Department, in delivering the Government’s manifesto commitment to “…take vigorous and immediate action against those who abuse or attack the people who work for and make our NHS” commissioned NHS Improvement to work with NHS England on new central support arrangements to help NHS organisations protect their staff from abuse. The Department expects their recommendations soon. These are likely to include the need for Board level leadership to oversee the recording of and dealing with incidents; ‘de-escalation’ training, development and support for staff; creating environments that reduce the likelihood of abuse; raising public awareness and a new collection of data on assaults and abuse.The Department announced that paramedics will be given body cameras to protect them from abuse. This scheme will be piloted in North East and South East Coast Ambulance Services before being rolled out.The Government is also supporting the hon. Member for Rhondda’s (Chris Bryant) Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill that will make assaults against and abuse of ‘emergency workers’ across all public services an aggravated offence. This is currently at Committee stage in its passage through Parliament.

Toxic Shock Syndrome

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many women and girls have been admitted to hospital with toxic shock syndrome in each of the last 10 years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The data held in Hospital Episode Statistics is a count of hospital attendances, not individual people. The attached document provides a count of finished admission episodes for females with a primary or secondary diagnosis of toxic shock syndrome, 2007-08 to 2016-17.



PQ162609 attached table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 19.67 KB)

Medical Records: Data Protection

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of subject access requests for patient medical records by third parties under the General Data Protection Regulations.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to prevent third parties requesting patient medical records through subject access requests under the General Data Protection Regulation.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect from 25 May, replacing the Data Protection Act 1998. Its provisions are directly applicable into national law, forming legal obligations that must be observed. Within the updated regulation is the right of access, which plays a central role in the GDPR. This updates similar provisions – known as Subject Access Request - that were available within the Data Protection Act 1998, giving individuals the right to obtain a copy of their personal data, including, from a health perspective, copies of medical records. Previously, under the Data Protection Act 1998, organisations were able to make a charge for dealing with the administration required in such a request. Under the GDPR, the ability in law to levy such charges has been removed in most cases. This is a blanket requirement of the GDPR, applicable to all businesses and public authorities which was subject to the collective agreement of all EU member states. There has been no assessment made on the cost of dealing with such requests. As was also the case previously with the Data Protection Act 1998, the GDPR does not prevent an individual making a subject access request via a third party, and if such a request is received organisations will need to make sure that the third party making the request is entitled to act on behalf of the individual. One exception to this principle is medical information required by insurance companies for underwriting purposes. The right of access under GDPR confers more personal information than is needed or is justified for insurance underwriting. Accordingly, insurance companies should instead use the established mechanism of the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 (AMRA) to obtain summary medical reports from general practitioners (GPs). The AMRA allows the GP to charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of copying the report.

Neuromuscular Disorders: Physiotherapy

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of neuromuscular physiotherapy provision for children and adults at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Steve Brine: The Department has not made an assessment on the adequacy of neuromuscular physiotherapy provision for children and adults at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. Neuromuscular physiotherapy provision is provided locally by Nottingham University NHS Trust. The Speciality General Manager for Children’s Medicine at the Trust has written a business case to appoint a specialist neuromuscular physiotherapist, which is scheduled for Trust governance approval very shortly. In correspondence with the hon. Member for Nottingham East (Mr Chris Leslie) on the same issue, the Chief Executive at the Trust has assured the hon. Member that the Trust adult and paediatric neurology and physiotherapy services had been working together, and had agreed to address neuromuscular physiotherapy provision.

Psychiatry: Consultants

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many specialist older adult Consultant Psychiatrists worked in the NHS in England in each year since 2009 (a) in total and (b) as FTE.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics. The attached table shows the number of HCHS old age psychiatry consultants employed in National Health Service trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England, as at 30 September for each specified year and the latest data available, full time equivalent (FTE) and headcount. Health Education England (HEE) is working closely with the Royal College of Psychiatrists to encourage junior doctors to choose a career in mental health, including old age psychiatry, and to reduce the long standing recruitment problems into consultant posts. Enhanced, early exposure to the challenges and rewards of psychiatry in the foundation years is now translating into improving fill rates in our core training programmes. This year HEE filled 367 of the 481 available training places in England. It is from three-year core psychiatric training that we will enhance future recruitment into training programmes in old age psychiatry and other highly specialist mental health areas.



PQ162522 attached document
(Word Document, 14.22 KB)

NHS Digital

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) mean, (b) median and (c) modal time taken is for NHS Digital to process a request for information from universities and other healthcare research organisations.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The question has been interpreted to mean requests for information made through NHS Digital’s contact centre or under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. Information for 2017/18 is detailed in the following table. This excludes specific data access requests made via NHS Digital’s Data Access Request Service (DARs) and any information requests which may have been received directly by other business areas.  Requests for information where the requester’s organisation is recorded as "Research" or "Academic”NumberMeanMedianModeGeneral requests for information11,4355 Days2 Days1 DayFreedom of Information requests232015 Days15 Days17 Days Source: NHS Digital Notes: 1 The contact centre aims to provide a response to general enquiries within 10 working days.2 The legal deadline for FOI requests is 20 working days.

Prisons: Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the Prison Health Dashboard.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Prison Health Dashboard will be published in this financial year, 2018-19.

Palliative Care: Children

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much has been spent from the public purse on palliative care services for children in (a) the London Borough of Southwark and (b) England in each of the last eight years.

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to require Clinical Commissioning Groups to provide annual funding to children’s (a) hospices and (b) palliative care services.

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to increase the allocation of funding for palliative care services for children.

Caroline Dinenage: As with the vast majority of NHS services, the funding and commissioning of palliative and end of life care is a local matter, over which individual clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have responsibility. CCGs are best placed to understand the needs of local populations and commission services to meet those needs accordingly, and as such, decisions to fund an increase for palliative care services or hospice provision are for the local National Health Service. Much of the palliative care patients receive will be provided either in outpatient or community settings, by nurses, community teams or general practitioners (GPs) as part of general NHS services provision, rather than as an identified palliative care service. In such services, data are either not available or does not identify palliative treatment. In addition, social and voluntary sector organisations can provide additional support to patients and the end of life. Therefore, figures for the total cost of palliative care service for children nationally, or across boroughs, is not available.

NHS: Drugs

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information on the costs of goods he will require of manufacturers of special medicinal products under the Health Service Medical Supplies (Costs) Act 2017 and subsequent regulations; and if he will bring forward further regulatory proposals to control the costs of those products.

Steve Brine: Under the Health Service Products (Provision and Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2018, manufacturers, importers and wholesalers of special medicinal products are required to provide the Department, every quarter, with purchase and/or sales information about products already listed with a price in the Drug Tariff and products that are being considered for listing with a price in the Drug Tariff. This information will be used to inform the reimbursement prices for special medicinal products. In addition, under the same Regulations, the Department can request ad-hoc information about sales and purchases as well as costs about any special medicinal products. The Health Service Medical Supplies (Costs) Act 2017 enables the Government to reimburse for specials dispensed in primary care in different ways such as considering quotes of suppliers and not reimbursing pharmacies at all if, for example, they have been provided the medicine by a central service. We are developing proposals, which will be subject to consultation with relevant stakeholders.

Clinical Commissioning Groups

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the (a) governance and (b) administration costs of Clinical Commissioning Groups in England; and what steps he is taking to ensure value for money for those costs.

Steve Brine: NHS England is responsible for determining allocations of financial resources to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). Total annual budgets given to CCGs cover the majority of NHS spending including admin expenditure. CCGs have a statutory duty to commission high-quality care that is cost-effective. It is the responsibility of CCGs, and NHS England, to ensure that commissioning is economical and effective at all times.

Members: Correspondence

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to letters to his predecessor from the hon. Member for North Durham on whistle blowing dated 5 May, 24 May and 25 June 2018.

Caroline Dinenage: I responded to the hon. Member’s letters on 16 July.

NHS: Translation Services

Graham P Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much money was spent on translation services in the NHS by language in the last financial year.

Graham P Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department takes to audit the (a) quality, (b) necessity and (c) value for money of translation services in the NHS.

Stephen Barclay: Information on expenditure on translation services is not held centrally. There has been no central audit of translation services in the National Health Service, as these services are commissioned by individual NHS organisations.

Social Services

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many local authorities are commissioning 15-minute social care visits.

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities cease commissioning of 15-minute social care visits.

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of people whose social care package consists of 15-minute visits.

Caroline Dinenage: We do not hold information on how many local authorities are commissioning 15 minute visits, or the number of people whose social package consists of a 15 minute visit. The Care Act 2014 is clear that commissioning services without properly considering the impact on people’s wellbeing is unacceptable. However, it would be inappropriate to introduce a blanket ban on 15 minute homecare visits. They may be appropriate in certain circumstances, for instance, checking a person’s medication has been taken. Ultimately, local authorities are responsible for the commissioning of services. We are supporting local authorities to improve commissioning of care. The Department has also worked with local government and the care sector to develop and encourage good practice in commissioning and managing local adult social care markets. A suite of guidance is now available at the on-line Hub on GOV.UK. The Department is working with organisations from across the adult social care sector to implement Quality Matters – a shared commitment to take action to achieve high quality social care. Under this initiative, the Local Government Association has published the Integrated Commissioning for Better Outcomes framework to support sector-led improvement in adult social care commissioning.

Drugs: Regulation

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State of 21 November 2017, Official Report, column 352, when he plans to hold the ministerial meeting on the future of medical regulations.

Steve Brine: The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lord O’Shaughnessy) is arranging the ministerial meeting on the future of medical regulations as soon as possible, subject to diary constraints.

Erythropoietic Protoporphyria

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to support people diagnosed with Erythropoietic Protoporphyria as a result of the decision by NICE not to license Scenesse.

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with people diagnosed with Erythropoietic Protoporphyria on the decision by NICE not to license Scenesse for availability on the NHS.

Steve Brine: We have had no such discussions with patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has not yet published final guidance on the use of afamelanotide for treating erythropoietic protoporphyria. NICE’s final draft guidance, published in May 2018, is currently subject to an appeal lodged by the drug manufacturer and other bodies. The appeal is due to be heard by NICE’s appeal panel on 30 July.

Royal Liverpool Hospital

Dame Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timetable is for the appointment of a new contractor to complete the building of the new Royal Liverpool Hospital; and will he make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: As stated in the answer I gave to Question 158172, officials from the Department of Health and Social Care are working closely on this matter with those from Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority to ensure that the hospital can be completed as quickly as is possible.

Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Written Statement of 10 July 2018 on Update on the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, HCWS841, what the (a) names and (b) objectives are of the clinicians on the clinical advisory group for surgical mesh.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The name of the clinicians on the clinical advisory group for surgical mesh are: Professor Keith Willett – National Medical Director for Acute Care and Emergency Preparedness, NHS EnglandProfessor Jonathan Duckett – Chair – British Society of Urogynaecology (BSUG)Mr Chris Harding - Chairman – British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) subsection of female, neurological and urodynamic urologyMr Roland Morley – President, Urology section of The Royal Society of Medicine; Chairman, Specialist Advisory Committee on Urology (United Kingdom)Mr Nigel Acheson – Regional Medical Director, NHS EnglandMr Alfred Cutner – NHS England Specialised Commissioning Clinical Reference GroupDr Heather Payne – Senior Medical Officer for Maternal and Child Health (Wales) The objectives of the Clinical Advisory Group, with subject matter expert members representing NHS England, BSUG and BAUS, are to:Recommend the mesh/tape procedures included in the high vigilance restriction.Recommend and justify any mesh/tape procedures that should be excluded from the restriction, with or without increased vigilance.Recommend any alternative non-mesh procedures that should be subject to increased vigilance, given the change in practice caused by the pause on mesh/tape use.Advise on high vigilance processes which must be followed by NHS and private hospitals for any mesh/tape surgery defined in (A) deemed clinically essential during the pause, and for the unrestricted procedures defined in (B) and (C). This includes:- Ensuring the appropriateness of the procedure and exclusion of alternatives.- Ensuring that all appropriate surgical options have been offered, including where secondary referral would be required. Local unit capability should not restrict treatment options;- Ensuring that appropriate information and consenting processes are in place in all cases;- A process for provider trust Medical Director’s sign-off of the surgeon’s competence; and- A process for documenting and registering the procedures.5.Recommend how trusts and general practitioners should support patients with advice, including patients newly referred or diagnosed, patients on the waiting list, and patients who have had previous mesh surgery who may have concerns.

Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care,  pursuant to the Written Statement of 10 July 2018 on Update on the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, HCWS841, what estimate he has made of the number of potential exceptions there will be to the pause in the use of mesh for stress urinary incontinence; and how exceptions to the suspension will be determined.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The pause in the use of vaginally inserted mesh to treat prolapse and tape/sling used to treat stress urinary incontinence will be implemented through a high vigilance programme of restricted practice. This is not a blanket ban as for some patients this can be a last treatment option for a debilitating condition. These operations will therefore be available for carefully selected patients based on a multidisciplinary team decision, where the patient understands the risks involved and has provided informed consent. It is therefore not possible at this stage to quantify the number of exceptions that will take place. This is similar to the position in Scotland, where mesh used to treat stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse has been temporarily suspended, but is allowed in certain tightly controlled circumstances.

Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Written Statement of 10 July 2018 on Update on the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, HCWS841, if he will publish in detail the Government’s plan for a high vigilance programme of restricted practice for the use of surgical mesh to treat stress urinary incontinence.

Jackie Doyle-Price: On 10 July, alongside the Government’s announcement of a pause in the use of sling/tape to treat stress urinary incontinence and vaginally inserted mesh to treat prolapse, NHS England and NHS Improvement wrote to provider Chief Executives and Medical Directors, advising on implementation of the pause through a high vigilance programme of restriction. It was advised that, for the majority of patients, a delay until the high vigilance programme ceased would be the preferred option. This information is in the public domain and available on the NHS Improvement website at the following link: https://i.emlfiles4.com/cmpdoc/9/7/2/8/1/1/files/47633_mesh-letter-to-acute-ceos-and-mds.pdf A Clinical Advisory Group has been formed, with subject matter expert members representing NHS England, British Society of Urogynaecology and British Association of Urological Surgeons. The Clinical Advisory Group is developing clinical recommendations for implementation following the initial advice given to providers. NHS England will ensure that these clinical recommendations are communicated to providers once they are agreed.

Nurses: Apprentices

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's recruitment target is for the nursing degree apprenticeship entry route, and what recent steps his Department has taken to meet that target.

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional finding his Department plans to provide to employers to cover the educational costs of nursing degree apprenticeships.

Stephen Barclay: There is no recruitment target for the nurse degree apprenticeship. The Government has a clear aspiration that once the apprentice route is established, up to 1,000 apprentice nurses could join the National Health Service each year. The registered nurse (degree) apprenticeship standard was approved for delivery on 9 May 2017. To date, there have been 260 starts on the registered nurse (degree) apprenticeship in the 2017 to 2018 academic year (August 2017 to April 2018) in England but this will continue to increase over the full year August 2017 to August 2018. The Department has no immediate plans to provide additional funding for the costs of education for the nurse degree apprenticeship, which should be met from the apprentice levy.

Dalteparin

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's policy is on prescriptions for dalteparin within primary care.

Steve Brine: The Department does not have a specific policy on the prescribing of dalteparin. Clinical commissioning groups hold the budget for primary care prescribing. It is their responsibility to give prescribing guidance to their member general practitioner practices, taking into account best practice, national guidance and the needs of their local populations.

Dalteparin

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of referrals to hospital each year for the purpose of obtaining dalteparin on repeat prescription.

Steve Brine: The Department has made no such estimate.

Abortion: Misoprostol

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of approving the home as a place for pregnant women to take misoprostol.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government’s priority is to ensure that women who require abortion services have access to safe, high-quality care. Abortions in England must be performed under the legal framework set by the Abortion Act 1967. We are not currently in a position to recommend that the home be approved as a class of place under Section 1(3)(a) of the Abortion Act 1967 in England. However, we are keeping the position under review, including reviewing the available evidence and having regard to the ongoing legal proceedings concerning home use in Scotland.

Coeliac Disease: Prescriptions

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the potential savings to the NHS budget of limiting access to gluten-free food via prescription.

Steve Brine: The estimate of savings to be made by reducing the National Health Service provision of gluten free foods to breads and mixes is £4.1 million per annum. The details of how this was calculated are set out in the published Impact Assessment. The impact assessment can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/678190/GF_foods_impact_assesment.pdf

NHS: Foreign Nationals

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will introduce itemised bills for overseas visitors using NHS services; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: The Department has no current plans to introduce itemised bills for overseas visitors using NHS services. The national guidance sets out that those patients who are identified as chargeable must be charged using either the national tariff or a locally agreed tariff if there is no national tariff for the treatment or service provided.

Antidepressants and Benzodiazepines: Prescriptions

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prescriptions of (a) individual benzodiazepine drugs and (b) individual antidepressants were dispensed in the community in 2017.

Steve Brine: The information requested is shown in the following tables. Number of prescription items for individual benzodiazepine drugs written in the United Kingdom and dispensed in the community in England in 2017British National Formulary (BNF) Chemical NameBNF Sub Paragraph NameBNF areaItemsFlurazepam HydrochlorideHypnoticsBNF 4.1.11Loprazolam MesilateHypnoticsBNF 4.1.140,651LormetazepamHypnoticsBNF 4.1.122,549NitrazepamHypnoticsBNF 4.1.1531,070TemazepamHypnoticsBNF 4.1.11,121,685AlprazolamAnxiolyticsBNF 4.1.26BromazepamAnxiolyticsBNF 4.1.215Chlordiazepoxide HydrochlorideAnxiolyticsBNF 4.1.266,477DiazepamAnxiolyticsBNF 4.1.25,191,486LorazepamAnxiolyticsBNF 4.1.21,098,085OxazepamAnxiolyticsBNF 4.1.295,596ClobazamControl Of EpilepsyBNF 4.8.1294,414ClonazepamControl Of EpilepsyBNF 4.8.1950,178ClonazepamDrugs Used In Status EpilepticusBNF 4.8.2170Midazolam HydrochlorideDrugs Used In Status EpilepticusBNF 4.8.265,632Midazolam MaleateDrugs Used In Status EpilepticusBNF 4.8.215,912Midazolam HydrochlorideBenzodiazepinesBNF 15.1.4.1194,021Total  9,687,948Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) Number of prescription items for individual antidepressants written in the United Kingdom and dispensed in the community in England in 2017BNF Chemical NameBNF Sub Paragraph NameBNF areaItemsAgomelatineAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.319,632Amitriptyline HydrochlorideAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.313,256,893AmoxapineAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.34Citalopram HydrobromideAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.314,289,426Citalopram HydrochlorideAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.377,560Clomipramine HydrochlorideAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.3300,358Dosulepin HydrochlorideAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.3817,105DoxepinAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.330,556Duloxetine HydrochlorideAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.32,040,053EscitalopramAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.31,007,713Fluoxetine HydrochlorideAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.36,632,295Flupentixol HydrochlorideAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.3139,723Fluvoxamine MaleateAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.322,509Imipramine HydrochlorideAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.3156,555IsocarboxazidAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.31,653Lofepramine HydrochlorideAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.3214,193Mianserin HydrochlorideAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.33,834MirtazapineAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.38,198,345MoclobemideAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.318,867Nefazodone HydrochlorideAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.3151NortriptylineAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.3589,443Other Antidepressant PrepsAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.33OxitriptanAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.333Paroxetine HydrochlorideAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.31,382,209Phenelzine SulfateAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.315,341ReboxetineAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.328,520Sertraline HydrochlorideAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.312,924,636Tranylcypromine SulfateAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.36,818Trazodone HydrochlorideAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.31,133,363Trimipramine MaleateAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.351,824TryptophanAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.31,927Venlafaxine HydrochlorideAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.34,125,810VortioxetineAntidepressant DrugsBNF 4.343,023Total  67,530,375Source: PCA

Mental Illness: Children

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children under the age of 18 were treated in A&E for a mental health crisis in each year since 2010.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The information requested is not collected.

Allergies: Medical Treatments

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to ensure the adequate provision of EpiPen 0.3mg Adrenaline Auto-Injectors in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with his Scottish counterpart on the adequate provision of EpiPen 0.3mg Adrenaline Auto-Injectors in the UK.

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of Pfizer on the supply of an adequate number of EpiPen 0.3mg Adrenaline Auto-Injectors to the UK.

Steve Brine: Departmental officials have been in regular contact with the United Kingdom licensed supplier of Epipens, Mylan, and are working closely with them to resolve the supply situation as quickly as possible. Mylan’s contract manufacturer, Meridian Medical Technologies is a Pfizer company. The Department has had no specific discussions with representatives of Pfizer with regard to the adequate provision and number of Epipens. Supplies are currently available, although limited, and are being closely managed to ensure that pharmacies can obtain stock to fulfil prescriptions for patients. Officials have shared information about the current supply position for Epipens with colleagues in the Scottish Government.

Mental Illness: Children

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the number of children being treated in A&E for a mental health crisis since 2010.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department and NHS England recognise that there is a need to improve the service responses for children and young people who attend emergency departments with mental health needs. We are making an additional £1.4 billion available in order to transform services, with the ambition for an additional 70,000 children and young people to access National Health Service specialist services a year by 2020/21. ‘Refreshing NHS Plans for 2018/19’, published by NHS England and NHS Improvement, requires the NHS to continue to work towards the ambition that, by 2020/21, all acute hospitals will have mental health liaison services in emergency departments that can meet the specific needs of people of all ages including children and young people. The NHS is also developing new approaches to improve children and young people crisis help. Since 2016, £4.5 million has been invested in eight urgent and emergency vanguard sites that have been testing models of delivering urgent and emergency mental health care for children and young people. In addition, through the mental health New Models of Care Programme; seven children and young people’s mental health sites are testing ways to improve the outcomes and experience of children, young people and their families by improving the join up between community and inpatient services.

Mental Illness: Children

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to increase support for children experiencing mental ill health to prevent them from presenting with a mental health crisis at A&E.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Children and young people’s mental health is a top priority for this Government. We are making an additional £1.4 billion available in order to transform services with the ambition for an additional 70,000 children and young people to access National Health Service specialist services a year by 2020/21. ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper’ is supported by a further £300 million and will revolutionise provision of mental health support in schools, bolster links between schools and the NHS and pilot a four-week waiting time for access to services. A key outcome of this work will be to identify and support children and young people’s mental health needs, to help prevent them from reaching the point of crisis.

Mental Health: Children and Young People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the timetable for publication of the systematic review of the evidence relating to the mental health of children and young people carried out by the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health and University College London used to inform the Government's Green Paper of December 2017, Transforming Children and Young People's Mental Health Provision, Cm 9523.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department understands that the authors of the independent evidence review, which supported the development of the Green Paper on children and young people’s mental health, plan to make it publicly available. As the review is independent of the Government, it is not possible to give an indication of the publication timetable.

Department for International Development

Syria: Refugees

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support and resettle (a) Yazidi, (b) Christian and (c) other religious or ethnic minority Syrian refugees.

Alistair Burt: The Department for International Development work alongside the Home Office on the resettlement of refugees. The UK works in accordance to the humanitarian principles of impartiality and neutrality which means that we do not take into consideration the ethno-religious origins of people requiring assistance as we resettle solely on the basis of needs, identified by UNHCR through their established submission categories.To protect the privacy of those being resettled and to support their recovery and integration, we limit the amount of information made publicly available and therefore do not publish a religious and ethnic breakdown of those who have been resettled.The Home Office are working with UNHCR and other partners to intensify their outreach to groups that might otherwise be reluctant to register for fear of stigma/ discrimination and those who may be unaware of the safe space and options available to them. This includes all religious minorities.

Bananas: Conservation

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent the extinction of the banana plant.

Harriett Baldwin: DFID is investing in technologies to identify ways to control the spread of banana diseases, including Panama Disease, in Africa and Asia, as part of a global effort to tackle this problem. DFID is major funder of the international research organisation, the Consultative group on International Agricultural Research (CCIAR), which is currently working to address Panama Disease (TR4) as well as other emerging disease and pest threats in developing countries. Although the disease cannot currently be eradicated, this research aims to develop effective control measures and to identify banana varieties that are not susceptible to the disease. These are being tested in countries like Mozambique and Myanmar that are already affected by Panama Disease.

Sudan: Economic Growth

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will increase her Department's support for economic development and growth in Sudan.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK continues to encourage Sudan to undertake the macroeconomic reforms necessary to reduce economic risks, support the most vulnerable in society, and attract international investment. The UK has been working with the international community to galvanize support to help Sudan commit to and deliver a series of macroeconomic reforms while simultaneously managing the impact of reform on the poorest. The UK continues to support those in need as a result of economic decline, including £12 million of DFID Sudan’s humanitarian budget which provides food security and livelihoods for over 490,000 vulnerable displaced people in Sudan, with a focus on Darfur. DFID has also allocated an additional £5 million to respond to the urgent needs of nearly 100,000 South Sudanese refugees, with food security and livelihoods the primary focus of support.

Burma: Rohingya

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the Memorandum of Understanding with Myanmar signed by the UNHCR and UNDP to support the creation of conditions for the return of Rohingya refugees currently in Bangladesh, what steps her Department is taking to support that process.

Alistair Burt: I welcome the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Burmese Government and UN agencies, which recognises that UNHCR should be the lead international agency on refugee returns. It indicates a greater willingness from the Burmese Government to engage with the international community on the Rohingya crisis. However, swift implementation will be key. The UK is continuing to push for access for the UN and others at the scale required to provide humanitarian and development support to all communities. We stand ready to do more once access allows, including exploring options to support the Government to make tangible progress, notably in the education sector. We will continue to look at how we can support creating the right conditions on the ground for credible returns up to international standards. We are also supporting partners who are assisting victims and building evidence, including on sexual violence crimes.

UN Agencies: Finance

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she has had any discussions with her EU counterparts on her proposal to introduce payments by results to funding of UN agencies.

Alistair Burt: From 2018 onwards, we will use the payment by results approach with the UN to strengthen accountability to deliver results in some key areas of UN reform and performance. My officials have undertaken a range of outreach opportunities to discuss the ‘payment by results’ component of the voluntary core funding that DFID contributes to the UN’s humanitarian and development agencies. This has included a number of meetings at Permanent Secretary level with interested donors, formal presentations to EU counterparts at Director General level and a number of informal meetings at a technical level.

Developing Countries: Females

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions her Department has had with its European counterparts on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 5.

Alistair Burt: The implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 5 is a priority for DFID discussions with all our partners, including European counterparts. This includes important discussions to drive progress on gender equality at international forums like the G7 and working as part of the EU negotiating block to achieve strong outcomes at the Commission on the Status of Women. The UK has strongly influenced the European Union’s (EU) Gender Action Plan, which will focus collective EU efforts to achieve Goal 5. This includes seconding UK national experts to assist the EU to design the Plan and to monitor progress. The UK regularly participates in discussions with EU counterparts to review implementation.

Developing Countries: Females

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how she plans to measure progress on Sustainable Development Goal 5 for the Voluntary National Review in 2019.

Alistair Burt: Work on developing the UK’s 2019 Voluntary National Review is ongoing. We will be drawing on a range of sources, including:the UN’s global indicator framework for measuring progress towards the SDGs;the UK’s Office for National Statistics’ National Reporting Platform on UK data for the SDGs;Single Departmental Plans in which government departments have embedded the SDGs; anddepartmental Annual Reports and Accounts in which departments are expected to report progress towards the SDGs.We will continue to consult with a range of key stakeholders as we finalise our plans, including launching an online consultation to ensure we capture a wide range of views and inputs.

Department for Education

Children's Rights: Greater London

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to respond to concerns raised by young people during the Greater London Authority’s second London Children’s Rights Inquiry held in November 2017.

Anne Milton: Holding answer received on 13 July 2018



The department welcomes the Greater London Authority’s (GLAs) commitment during this event to listen to its young people and bring together different organisations to discuss the important issues of jobs, apprenticeships and training. We have already put in place a number of policies to improve young peoples’ participation in post-16 education and training. Since 2013, all young people have been required to participate in education or training until they are 18. Local authorities have to track young peoples’ activity to identify those who are not participating in education or training and to encourage and support them to do so. Additionally, apprenticeships are accessible to people from all backgrounds and we are encouraging take up in a range of ways, including a new partnership with five major cities in England to drive up apprenticeships among underrepresented groups. GLA is one of these cities. We have also introduced traineeships, which support social mobility by providing quality training for young people who need to develop their skills and experience in order to enter the labour market.

Education and Skills Funding Agency: Staff

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2018 to Question 155300 Education and Skills Funding Agency, of the 566 staff to employ the schools system how many are in each civil service salary pay band.

Anne Milton: Holding answer received on 10 July 2018



The Education and Skills Funding Agency employs 566 members of staff who assist in the administration of the school funding system. These teams may not spend 100% of their time working on matters related to academies, maintained schools and school sixth forms. Below is a table showing how many are in each civil service pay band. GRADENumber of Staff MembersSCS16Grade 653Grade 7127SEO136HEO133EO80EA AO21TOTAL566

Higher Education: Admissions

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to increase the representation of ethnic minority students in higher education in (a) England and (b) Birmingham.

Mr Sam Gyimah: We have seen record numbers of English 18 year old black and minority ethnic (BME) students going into higher education over recent years and entry rates for all ethnic groups increased in 2017, reaching the highest recorded levels. Improving access and outcomes in higher education for ethnic minority students is a priority for government.Through the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 (HERA), the government has introduced sweeping reforms to tackle equality of opportunity. This includes the Transparency Duty, which will for the first time, require all universities to publish applications, offer, acceptance, dropout and attainment rates of students by ethnicity, gender and socio-economic background.The HERA places a statutory duty on the new regulator, the Office for Students (OfS), to promote equality of opportunity for disadvantaged and under-represented groups in higher education, not just access. This includes non-continuation and attainment levels of students from those backgrounds. Through our first guidance on access and participation plans, we have asked the OfS to encourage providers to build on the work already underway aimed at increasing the success of ethnic minority groups in higher education.In addition, the HERA has created a Director for Fair Access and Participation so that widening access and participation for disadvantaged students is at the core of OfS functions.The OfS’s regulatory framework will include the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework, which will assess providers on how well they are delivering positive outcomes for all students, including those from under-represented groups.

Schools: Census

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when nationality and country of birth data collected by schools for immigration purposes in the 2016-18 school census will be deleted as required by the Education Act 1996.

Nick Gibb: The Department has consistently been clear that nationality and country of birth data was collected for the purposes of internal educational research and will not be shared with the Home Office or any other government department. At the end of the current 2017/18 academic year, the Department will have sufficient data to support the research it wishes to undertake and has proactively decided to remove the data collection burden placed on schools and parents from September 2018 onwards. The Department has robust safeguards and controls in place to ensure this data, as with all our data, is handled securely and in accordance with relevant data protection regulations. This data will be subject to ongoing periodic reviews to ensure that the data will be retained for no longer than is necessary for the research purposes for which the data was originally collected.

Construction Industry Training Board: Glaziers

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference the Industrial Training (Construction Board) Order 1964 (Amendment) Order 1992, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the scope of the Construction Industry Training Board to include glaziers.

Anne Milton: Matters of extending the scope to include glazers would be for the Construction Industry Training Board to determine.It is important Industry Training Boards (ITBs) are able to both keep up with developments in their industries and help them to modernise and improve productivity. This may mean that the scope of the ITBs (which determines whether employers are liable to pay the levies and who may claim grants) needs to evolve.

School Teachers' Review Body

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the timetable is for the next School Teachers’ Review Body report to be published.

Nick Gibb: The School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) which makes recommendations on the 2018 pay award, has recently submitted its 28th Report to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State. The Government is carefully considering the report from the STRB and its recommendations. The Department will publish the report and the response as soon as possible.

Regional Schools Commissioners and Schools Commissioner: Staff

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July to Question 161170, on Regional Schools Commissioners and School Commissioner: Staff, how many people employed in the Office of the National Schools Commissioner and in regional schools commissioner offices are in each civil service pay band.

Anne Milton: Both the Office of the National Schools Commissioner and each office of the Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) are made up of staff from the grades Executive Assistant to RSC (senior civil servant). The breakdown for each grade across the RSCs’ offices and the National Core are shown below, as of 31 March 2018. GradeFull Time Equivalent (as at 31 March 2018)Senior Civil Service Pay Band 210Senior Civil Service Pay Band 118.5Grade 628.9Grade 797.0Senior Executive Officer124.5Higher Executive Officer151.2Executive Officer and Executive Assistant149.1Total579.2

Arts and Design: GCSE

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of students that took art and design at GCSE level were eligible for free school meals in each year since 2012.

Nadhim Zahawi: The number of pupils[1] in state-funded schools at the end of Key Stage 4 who entered into GCSE (or equivalent) art and design subjects[2],[3], between 2011/12 and between 2016/17[4] are provided in the tables:2011/12[5]SubjectTotal pupils enteringTotal entrants as % of all pupilsEntrants who were eligible for FSM% of entrants that were eligible for FSMApplied art and design1,1680.216113.8Art and design136,46724.317,05212.5 2012/13SubjectTotal pupils enteringTotal entrants as % of all pupilsEntrants who were eligible for FSM% of entrants that were eligible for FSMApplied art and design1,0460.213012.4Art and design141,52924.818,96113.4   2013/14[6]SubjectTotal pupils enteringTotal entrants as % of all pupilsEntrants who were eligible for FSM% of entrants that were eligible for FSMApplied art and design8470.214517.1Art and design150,44526.921,14914.1 2014/15[7]SubjectTotal pupils enteringTotal entrants as % of all pupilsEntrants who were eligible for FSM% of entrants that were eligible for FSMApplied art and design8150.112114.8Art and design157,05428.322,14314.1 2015/16SubjectTotal pupils enteringTotal entrants as % of all pupilsEntrants who were eligible for FSM% of entrants that were eligible for FSMApplied art and design8000.110513.1Art and design149,09727.620,64013.8 2016/17SubjectTotal pupils enteringTotal entrants as % of all pupilsEntrants who were eligible for FSM% of entrants that were eligible for FSMApplied art and design5560.19717.4Art and design143,88227.419,53113.6 [1] Total number of entries include pupils who were absent, whose results are pending and results which are ungraded or unclassified.[2] Discounting has been applied where pupils have taken the same subject more than once and only one entry is counted in these circumstances. Prior to 2014, best entry discounting, where the pupil’s best result is used was in place in performance tables. From 2014 onwards, first entry rules were introduced, where a pupil’s first entry in that subject is used in performance tables. For more information on discounting and early entry, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-4-qualifications-discount-codes-and-point-scores.[3] Art and design subjects are a category used with the Department’s statistical releases and include: Applied art and design, Art and design, Drama, Media/Film/TV, Music, Drama and Performing arts.[4] All figures are based on final data so will deviate from total entries figures published in the departments statistical release.[5] Figures for 2011/12 are based on GCSE entries only and does not include equivalents. Caution should be used when comparing these figures to later years.[6] In 2013/14, two major reforms were implemented which affect the calculation of key stage 4 performance measures data: 1) Professor Alison Wolf’s Review of Vocational Education recommendations which: restrict the qualifications counted; prevent any qualification from counting as larger than one GCSE; and cap the number of non-GCSEs included in performance measures at two per pupil, and 2) an early entry policy to only count a pupil’s first attempt at a qualification, in subjects counted in the English Baccalaureate.[7] From 2014/15, early entry policy, under which only a pupil’s first attempt at a qualification is counted in performance measures, is extended to all subjects.

Education: North of England

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of  11 June 2018 to Question 140739 on Education: North of England, how much and what proportion of the funding came from the Northern Powerhouse Education Fund.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Education: North of England

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the process for bids to the Northern Powerhouse Education Fund (a) opened and (b) closed; what the remit of the Northern Powerhouse Education Fund is; what the bidding process was for that Fund; how many applications to that Fund were received; and which of those applications were successful.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Discovery School Newcastle

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding the Government has provided to the Discovery School in Newcastle in each of the previous five financial years.

Nick Gibb: Since the free school opened in 2014, the Department has provided grant, rates and pupil premium funding totalling £4,624,089. This can be broken down by academic year as follows:2014/15 - £932,6942015/16 - £2,041,1452016/17 - £769,0162017/18 - £880,964 Capital funding for individual free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools, where all works have been completed and costs are no longer commercially sensitive, is published on GOV.UK. This can be viewed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-funding-for-open-free-schools. Figures for schools meeting these criteria, including Discovery School, are due to be published later this month.

Adult Education: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the funding available for adult education courses within (a) Coventry and (b) the West Midlands.

Anne Milton: The adult education budget (AEB) aims to engage adults and provide the skills and learning they need to equip them for work, an apprenticeship or other learning. It enables more tailored programmes of learning to be made available, which may or may not require a qualification, to help eligible learners engage in learning, build confidence, and/or enhance their wellbeing. It supports three legal entitlements to full funding for some learners and enables a more flexible provision for others.In 2017/18 (academic year) the total AEB allocated to providers by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) was £1.39 billion. Of this, £171.6 million was allocated to providers based in the West Midlands, of which £10.4 million was allocated to providers based in Coventry.From 2019/20 the government will devolve the AEB to several Mayoral Combined Authorities, including West Midlands.The ESFA does not allocate funding on a geographic basis and providers can fund delivery anywhere in England.

Apprentices: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding his Department has allocated to businesses in Coventry to support the recruitment of apprentices in each of the last eight years.

Anne Milton: The Education and Skills Funding Agency has published allocations to training providers, colleges, local authorities and academies over the past eight years. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/16-to-19-education-funding-allocations#published-allocations.Information is not published or held for Coventry businesses. Funding is allocated to support the delivery of the apprenticeship programme rather than specifically for the recruitment of apprentices.Additionally in Coventry, in this academic year, the Apprenticeships Support and Knowledge in schools programme has delivered in:16 schools/colleges,with 43 activities,reaching 458 students and 18 teachers.

Social Mobility Commission: Public Appointments

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he telephoned Dame Martina Milburn to encourage her to apply to be Chair the Social Mobility Commission; how many other people he so encouraged; and what the names are of those people.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Governance Code on Public Appointments permits ministers and departments to contact potential applicants to encourage them to apply when advertising appointments, provided this is done fairly, openly and transparently. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and officials agreed a shortlist of 11 potential candidate to make aware of the opportunity available to be Chair of the Social Mobility Commission. Four people from this shortlist were telephoned by the Secretary of State, one of whom was Martina Milburn who was called on 16 March 2018. It would not be appropriate to publicly share the names of the other individuals contacted by the Secretary of State as this is personal sensitive information that would identify those individuals without their consent. The process to appoint a Chair of the Social Mobility Commission was run in accordance of advice from the Cabinet Office and the Department for Education’s Public Appointments team, and fully in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

Social Mobility Commission: Public Appointments

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on what dates the original application process opened and closed for the Chair of the Social Mobility Commission; how many people applied for that position before the closure of the original application process; whether the application process was then extended; how many people applied for that position after any such extension; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Social Mobility Commission: Public Appointments

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applicants were (a) long-listed, (b) shortlisted and (c) interviewed for the position of Chair of the Social Mobility Commission; how many people and who were on the panels to decide on the (i) long-list, (ii) shortlist and (iii) list of interviewees for that position; how many stages of interview took place for that position; and who interviewed the applicants in those interviews.

Nadhim Zahawi: The department received 21 applications for the role of Chair of the Social Mobility Commission. Four of these applicants were shortlisted and three of the shortlisted applicant were interviewed after one applicant withdrew.The shortlisting and interviews were undertaken by Emran Mian (Director of Social Mobility and Strategy at the Department for Education), Nick Markham (lead non-executive director at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) and Ruby McGregor Smith (non-executive board member at the Department for Education). Both the shortlisting and interview process were carried out in line with guidance from the Centre of Public Appointments.One stage of interviews took place for the position and the panel recommended Martina Milburn as an appointable candidate. The government was pleased to announce her as their preferred candidate. The process to appoint a Chair of the Social Mobility Commission was run in accordance with advice from the Cabinet Office and the Department for Education’s Public Appointments team and it was fully in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

Social Mobility Commission: Public Appointments

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the original application process (a) opened and (b) closed for the position of Chair of the Social Mobility Commission; how many people applied for that position before the closure of the original application process; and whether that application process was extended.

Nadhim Zahawi: The application process to recruit a Chair of the Social Mobility Commission opened on 5 February 2018 with an original closing date of 25 February 2018. The closing date was subsequently extended to 30 March 2018 to ensure that applications were received from a strong field of candidates. Six applications for the role were received before the closure of the original application process and fifteen were received after the extension to the deadline was made.The process to appoint a Chair of the Social Mobility Commission was run in accordance of advice from the Cabinet Office and the Department for Education’s Public Appointments team, and it was fully in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

Home Education

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of whether home-schooled children receive the same level of social and academic education as children attending school.

Anne Milton: The numbers and identities of children educated at home are not collected centrally.For that reason it is not possible to make any overall assessment of the education they receive compared with children attending school. The parents of children of compulsory school age are responsible for ensuring that they receive an efficient full-time education suitable to the child’s age, ability, aptitudes and any special educational needs. The government has made it clear that it believes that the majority of parents undertake this task successfully and with enthusiasm. When the home education being provided is not suitable, the local authority has power to intervene. The existing framework for intervention by local authorities is currently under review. The department is now considering the responses made to the recent consultation on revised guidance for local authorities on the most effective use of their powers in relation to home education, and an associated call for evidence, which closed on 2 July 2018.

Nurses: Apprentices

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students started a nursing degree apprenticeship in 2017-18.

Anne Milton: There have been 64,830 apprenticeship starts in Health, Public Services and Care, reported to date, in the first three quarters of the 2017 to 2018 academic year (August 2017 to April 2018) in England:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships.We want to increase the number of nursing apprenticeships and now have a complete apprentice pathway from entry level to postgraduate advanced clinical practice in nursing. This will support people from all backgrounds to enter a nursing career in the NHS.The registered nurse (degree) apprenticeship standard was approved for delivery on 9 May 2017. To date, there have been 260 starts on the registered nurse (degree) apprenticeship in the 2017 to 2018 academic year (August 2017 to April 2018) in England.We have also created a new programme for nursing associate (Level 5 standard approved for delivery on 20 November 2017) apprentices to broaden the routes into the profession. 5,000 starts are planned in 2018, with a further 7,500 in 2019. To date, there have been 640 starts on the nursing associate apprenticeship in the 2017 to 2018 academic year (August 2017 to April 2018) in England.We are working closely with employers, Health Education England and ministers in the Department of Health and Social Care to make sure the NHS is fully supported to recruit apprentices, both in nursing and in a range of other occupations.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding per pupil has been allocated to schools in (a) Kirklees and (b) Yorkshire in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: The revenue funding allocated for primary and secondary education for each financial year from 2010 to 2018 for Kirklees local authority and Yorkshire and Humber regions are shown in the table. Funding is not allocated separately for primary and secondary pupils.Revenue amounts allocated for primary and secondary education for each financial year from 2010 to 2018 for Kirklees local authority and Yorkshire and Humber region.Funding for Schools 2010-18 £ millionsFinancial YearKirklees Local AuthorityYorkshire and Humber2010-112312.13,681.12011-12314.43,721.72012-13321.43,800.42013-14343.74,075.42014-15357.54,241.02015-16363.84,361.02016-17366.94,389.52017-183374.34,506.7[1] There have been various changes to the way revenue funding has operated over this period, though essentially the above figures cover local government finance settlement for schools, the dedicated schools grant and other revenue grants.[2] For 2010-17, primary and secondary pupil numbers in each local authority in England can be found in the local authority tables for each year at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers.[3] Data for 2017 to 2018 and onwards will be added to the webpage in due course.

Pupil Exclusions

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish the number of permanent exclusions from school as a proportion of the overall school population in each local authority area in each of the last five years where figures are available.

Nick Gibb: The National Statistics release ‘Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England: 2015 to 2016’ includes numbers and rates of exclusions. The full release is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england-2015-to-2016. Table 15 of the ‘Local Authority tables: SFR35/2017’ includes a breakdown of exclusion rates for each local authority in England in the 2015/16 academic year. Historic information (from the 2006/07 academic year onwards) is also available in the release’s Underlying data: SFR35/2017 section, in file ‘SFR35_2017_national_region_la_school_data.csv’. The figures can be filtered by the ‘la_name’ column.

Children and Young People: Mental Illness

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that schools raise awareness of mental health problems experienced by children and young people.

Nick Gibb: The Government is taking steps to increase the knowledge of teachers so that they are equipped to raise awareness of mental health issues. The Department of Health and Social Care is funding mental health awareness training for a teacher in every secondary school and is planning to extend that to all primary schools before the end of this Parliament. This is in addition to funding MindEd - a free online portal that provides information and training for all adults working with children and young people about mental health problems.As part of the proposals set out in the green paper Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision, the Government has committed to funding all schools to train a Designated Senior Lead for mental health. The leads will be trained in how to promote and support good mental health and wellbeing in a school setting. The green paper can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision-a-green-paper.

Ministry of Justice

Prison Officers: Resignations

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers in England and Wales left the Prison Service after less than (a) six months, (b) twelve months and (c) eighteen months from the start of their employment in each of the last eight years.

Rory Stewart: Holding answer received on 20 June 2018



The number of band 3-5 prison officers who left the Prison Service, by the length of service at leaving is shown in table 1 below.Table 1: Band 3-5 officers1 (headcount) who left the Prison Service, by length of service2, 2010/11 to 2017/18  Length of service2 Financial yearLess than 6 months6 months and up to but excluding 12 months12 months and up to but excluding 18 months18 months and overTotal band 3-5 officer leavers2010/114129261,0521,1482011/121131221,0911,1552012/131917141,4751,5252013/14210112,9192,9422014/1573951,2651,3522015/16161160331,1821,5362016/17154901501,4301,8242017/18437202951,3392,073 For context it is important to note that:Low levels of prison officer recruitment happened between 2010 to 2014, meaning there were relatively low numbers of officers in HMPPS with short lengths of service. (Details can be found in table 14 of the latest published workforce statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/her-majestys-prison-and-probation-service-workforce-quarterly-march-2018)The increase in 2017/18 in the number of officers leaving in the first year is likely to be due to the recent recruitment campaign (begun in November 2016) to increase officer numbers by 2,500 - the larger volumes of newer officers would mean that the higher leaving volumes of individuals leaving in their first year would not be unexpected.The high number of leavers with more the 18 months of service in 2013/14 is due to voluntary early departure schemes run in that financial year. 1 Includes Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officer and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.2 Length of service in HMPPS calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS.

Employment Tribunals Service

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many employment tribunal applications have been refused on the basis of being outwith the time limit in each of the last three years; and how many of those applications related to maternity or paternity discrimination.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Criminal Proceedings: Evidence

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of criminal cases where evidence has not been fully disclosed.

Lucy Frazer: I refer the honourable member to the answer given by the Attorney General on March 7th of this year to a parliamentary question posed by Thangam Debonnaire MP on this topic; and to the answer I gave on March 14th of this year to a question posed by the honourable member for Ashfield. I reiterate what I said in March: this is an issue that the Government takes extremely seriously. Compliance with disclosure requirements is vital if there is to be a fair trial, in the interests of both complainant and accused. To that end, the police and CPS are already taking steps to improve disclosure through the National Disclosure Improvement Plan. In addition, the Attorney General has been conducting a wide-ranging review of the practices and procedures around the disclosure of unused material in criminal cases.

Reoffenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) community or (b) equivalent orders each offender sent to prison in each of the last three years for less than 12 months had previously been given.

Rory Stewart: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Small Claims: Legal Representation

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people self-represented in the small claims court in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Lucy Frazer: In the 12 months to March 2018, the most recent period for which data are available, 42,682 people self-represented in the small claims court. Note: These data are a subset of published statistics (table 1.6) available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/714288/civil-justice-stats-main-tables-jan-mar-2018.xlsx and the caveat at footnote 2 of those published data also applies to the data provided in the answer above. ‘Self-representation’ is determined by the field 'legal representation' in the HMCTS case management system being left blank.

Child Contact Centres

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of adequacy of funding for supported contact centres by Cafcass.

Lucy Frazer: The Government is not responsible for funding the child contact centre sector. However, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) provides small value annual grants to supported child contact centres run by the voluntary sector, where such centres seek financial assistance. This funding not only helps such centres to remain viable but may be used to develop the quality of provision offered. The overall level of funding available to supported child centres is dependent on demand but has remained broadly stable since 2014/15. For 2018/19, individual grants are available up to an initial limit of £2,500 which can be increased to £3,000 where appropriate.

Ministry of Justice: Written Questions

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to publish an Answer to Question 152827 tabled by the hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd on 12 June 2018.

Rory Stewart: The answer to PQ 152827 was submitted on 16/07/2018.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for personal independence payment tribunals.

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effects of waiting times for PIP tribunals on vulnerable people.

Lucy Frazer: Latest figures indicate that since Personal Independent Payment was introduced, more than 3.1 million decisions have been made, and of these 4% have been overturned. In order to respond to a general increase in appeal receipts, HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has been working with the Tribunal’s judiciary both to appoint additional judges and panel members, and to take forward initiatives with the potential to increase the capacity and performance of the Tribunal. We have recruited extra fee-paid judicial office holders: 250 judges across the First-tier Tribunal, 125 disability-qualified members, and up to 230 medical members. We are also developing a new digital system which enables speedier processing of appeals and a better service for all parties to the proceedings. In addition, we are reviewing with the Judiciary, current listing practices to increase the number of cases listed on a Tribunal session, and introducing case-management “triage” sessions, with the aim of reducing the time taken for appeals to reach final determination. All these measures will increase the capacity of the Tribunal, with the aim of reducing waiting times for appellants. HMCTS is very sensitive to the needs of people with a wide range of physical and mental challenges, including waiting times for Tribunal hearings. Tribunal staff, and judicial office holders, are trained accordingly, with the HMCTS reasonable adjustments policy and practice applied where appropriate. Guidance on the HMCTS reasonable adjustments policy is published on GOV.UK. If an expedited hearing is sought, or if the Tribunal identifies a case which may benefit from an expedited hearing, a judge (or caseworker acting under delegated powers and then within 14 days subject to an automatic right to be placed before a judge) will make a case management decision on the issue taking into account all the circumstances known about the case. Such decisions may be revised on application and are subject to appeal if an error of law is made.

Companies: Ownership

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Crown Dependencies on setting up public registers of beneficial ownership on the basis of a voluntary agreement in the last two months.

Lucy Frazer: The Crown Dependencies are not part of the UK. They are self-governing Dependencies of the Crown with their own legislative assemblies, administrative, fiscal and legal systems and courts of law. The Ministry of Justice manages the constitutional relationship between the UK and the Crown Dependencies. Ministers and officials routinely discuss a range of matters relevant to the constitutional relationship with the Crown Dependencies, including company registers of beneficial ownership, but it is not my Department’s role to make specific recommendations in this area. The Ministry of Justice also liaises with the Home Office as the lead UK Department for arrangements on sharing beneficial ownership information between our law enforcement agencies for corporate and legal entities incorporated in our respective jurisdictions. These arrangements are set out in the ‘Exchange of Notes’ between the UK and Crown Dependencies. The Government intends to use its best endeavours, diplomatically and with international partners, to promote public registers of company beneficial ownership as the global standard. The Government would expect the Crown Dependencies to adopt public registers in line with changes in global standards and they have committed to doing so.

Prisoners

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners are held in a prison which is a higher category than they have been given; and how many of those prisoners are held in a higher category prison because their healthcare needs cannot be met by a prison of their respective category.

Rory Stewart: It is not uncommon for prisoners to serve part of their sentence in an establishment which can hold prisoners of a higher security category than they are. For example a newly-sentenced category C prisoner will initially begin their sentence in a predominant function ‘local’ prison, which serves the courts and is built to a category B standard, before being allocated to a category C ‘training’ prison. As at 30 June 2018 there were around 16,000 prisoners being held in prisons which can hold those of a higher security category. Seventy five percent of these are category C prisoners awaiting onward allocation to a suitable establishment and short-term sentenced prisoners who are held close to their home address in preparation for resettlement into the community. There are complex and wide-ranging issues involved in allocation and transfer of prisoners. Decisions must reflect both the specific needs and circumstances of the prisoner, as well as the operating environment and range of services at the receiving prison. Closeness to home is one of the key factors considered when choosing where to place prisoners, particularly for those on short sentences or nearing release, where they need to (re)build family ties, secure housing and health services and look for work. These prisoners are prioritised for local prisons in large conurbations. We also consider other factors such as length of sentence, security category and offending behaviour requirements. Through the Government’s Prison Estate Transformation Programme we are getting the basics right by building decent prisons to improve rehabilitation and create safe and secure environments for staff and offenders. As well as constructing new prisons we are reconfiguring the existing estate so that prisoners will be held in the right place at the right time in their journey and their rehabilitation can be managed more effectively. By matching people in prison to the function that a prison fulfils, prisons will be able to deliver the right outcomes, and people in prison will be better supported to turn their lives around.

National Offender Management Service

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to publish the National Offender Management Service review of Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork.

Rory Stewart: The ACCT case management system for prisoners at risk at self-harm or suicide has been formally reviewed twice since it was introduced into prisons across England and Wales from 2004-2007. The most recent review concluded in 2015, and as this was an internal review the results were not published. The 2015 review found that ACCT was an effective system, but identified opportunities to increase the level of compliance with the policy in prisons and to improve the quality of care delivered to prisoners. This has informed a number of the measures that we have since taken to improve the system, including the introduction of improved training and the publication of further guidance for staff. We will shortly be consulting stakeholders on proposals for improvements to the ACCT form and associated policy that are based on the outcome of the 2015 review as well as more recent feedback on the operation of the system.

Prison Accommodation

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisons use the policy of three prisoners living in a cell; and how many cells are occupied by at least three prisoners in each prison.

Rory Stewart: Our vision is for prison staff and prisoners to work and live in a safe and secure, uncrowded environment that is modern and fit for the purpose of helping prisoners to reform. This is why we are getting the basics right through the Government’s Prison Estate Transformation Programme, building decent prisons to improve rehabilitation and create safe and secure environments for staff and offenders. Our reforms will see us close down and redevelop ageing prisons and deliver up to 10,000 new places in high-quality, modern establishments fit for today’s demands. We will only transform our prisons into places of rehabilitation if we ensure that we address basic issues such as cleanliness, decency and safety. We keep the prison population and capacity under careful review to ensure that there is always sufficient capacity. The table below identifies 29 prisons, as at 30 June 2018, which were holding prisoners in accommodation certified to hold three people or more. The prisons identified will include those with healthcare units, dormitories, and cells which are certified to hold, on both a crowded and uncrowded basis, three or more prisoners. PrisonNumber of locations within the prison holding three or more prisonersAltcourse9Askham Grange10Bedford8Belmarsh97Birmingham4Bristol2Bullingdon2Doncaster2East Sutton Park15Elmley87Forest Bank1Foston Hall2Hewell35Hollesley Bay4Hull1Huntercombe3Leeds1Leicester7Liverpool2New Hall1North Sea Camp7Norwich8Preston5Rochester1Stoke Heath2Styal40Swansea7Usk1Wormwood Scrubs4Total368

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2018 to Question 154703 on Social Security Benefits: Appeals, how many decisions made on (a) personal independence payment, (b) employment support allowance and (c) universal credit have been appealed in England in each of the last three years.

Lucy Frazer: Latest figures indicate that since PIP was introduced, more than 3.1 million decisions have been made, and of these 4% have been overturned. For ESA 4% have been overturned at tribunals.The information requested is set out in the table below: England1Financial Years April- MarchPersonal Independence Payment (PIP)2Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)3Universal Credit4ReceiptsReceiptsReceipts2015-201649117456256412016-2017829317276414512017-2018593142715665570 1 Data based on HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) regions in England.2 Personal Independence Payment (New Claim Appeals and Reassessments) which replaces Disability Living Allowance was introduced on 8 April 2013.3 ESA which was rolled out from October 2008 and ESA (Incapacity Benefit Reassessment) rolled out from April 2011.4 Universal Credit is a social security benefit in the United Kingdom introduced in a few jobcentres in the North-West of England from 2013, a gradual roll out across the rest of Britain is ongoing.5 Data for the period April 17 to March 18 are provisional data and subject to change.

Prisoners

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the possible effect of levels of austerity on projected prison population numbers; and if he will make a statement.

Rory Stewart: I have made no such assessment.

Criminal Proceedings: Legal Aid Scheme

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment on the effect of reductions in the level of  funding for Criminal Legal Aid on the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of Criminal Law Practitioners.

Lucy Frazer: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to PQ 160749 on the 9th July.

Parole: Homicide

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the outcome is of recent discussions on bringing forward legislative proposals on a no body, no parole law.

Rory Stewart: Discussions are ongoing but the Government is committed to pursuing an effective response to the ‘Helen’s Law’ or ‘No Body, No Parole’ campaign. We are currently considering practical and lawful ways to encourage offenders to provide information on the whereabouts of their victims’ remains, either at the point of sentencing or when release is considered by the Parole Board.

Convictions: North Wales

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions for criminal offences were committed in North Wales for each (a) category and (b) offence in each of the last five years.

Rory Stewart: The number of offenders convicted in North Wales, broken down by (a) offence group, and (b) offence, can be found in the ‘Court Outcomes by Police Force Area data tool’ at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2017 To produce the data requested, click anywhere on the table to open the ‘field list’ and then re-create the following steps:Drag and drop ‘Police Force Area’ from the ‘rows’ box into the ‘filters’ box;Filter by ‘Police Force Area’ and select North Wales;Filter by ‘Convicted/Not Convicted’ and select Convicted;Filter by ‘Court Type’ and select all;Drag and drop ‘Offence’ from the ‘filters’ box into the ‘rows’ box. Other categories of interest can be found in the ‘filters’ section of the pivot table.

Courts: Sunderland

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 25 June to Question 155782 on Courts: Sunderland, what progress has been made by the HMCTS Property Board's deliberations on the future of the Sunderland court estate.

Lucy Frazer: I wrote to the Hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South on 10 July 2018 providing an update on the outcome of the deliberations of the Property Board.

Legal Aid Scheme

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice,  how many people have an outstanding statutory charge placed by the Legal Aid Agency against their property.

Lucy Frazer: The legal aid scheme is monitored by the number of cases funded, as opposed to the number of people who have been in receipt of that funding. This is because one individual may receive legal aid on multiple occasions. A secured statutory charge exists in favour of the Legal Aid Agency in 24,880 cases as at 31st March 2018.

Treasury

Financial Services: Payments

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department's consultation on Cash and digital payments in the new economy, published on 13 March 2018, when his Department plans to respond to that consultation; and if he will make a statement.

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to tackle excessive card payment surcharges.

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharge) Regulations 2012 in tackling excessive card payment surcharges.

John Glen: In January 2018, European Union legislation (PSDII) introduced a mandatory ban on surcharging for the vast majority of consumer cards - Visa and MasterCard - with the Government extending the ban to all retail payment instruments. The intention is to make the rules around surcharging less confusing for customers and reduce the chances of the customer being taken advantage of by any unscrupulous firms.This builds on action already taken by the Government through the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012, which set out to improve transparency to facilitate competition and address excessive payment surcharges.Government has not made a formal assessment of the impact of the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharge) Regulations. However, in Spring, the Government launched a call for evidence on cash and digital payments in the new economy. It sought information on how the shift from cash to digital payments impacts on different sectors, different regions and different demographics. As part of this call for evidence, views on the surcharging ban were provided. The Government will formally respond to the call for evidence in due course.

Insurance: Fees and Charges

Alex Sobel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the implications are for his policies of recent research showing insurers quoting higher premiums for people with names common among ethnic minorities.

John Glen: The Government is determined that insurers treat customers fairly, and firms are required to do so under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. In addition, the Equality Act 2010 prohibits insurers from discriminating on the basis of ethnic origin. The FCA is currently conducting detailed discovery work into pricing practices used by insurers to develop a clear understanding of current market practices. This discovery work is looking at the techniques, strategies and rating factors used by insurers in the insurance market. Once concluded, this work will enable consideration of whether any further intervention is required.

Individual Savings Accounts

Justin Madders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have paid a penalty charge for the withdrawal of money from a Lifetime ISA; and how much has been accrued to the public purse as a result of those penalty charges.

John Glen: During the first financial year 2017/18 there was no unauthorised withdrawal charge in place. The data for 2018/19 is not yet available, but HMRC will publish it in due course.

Mortgages: Repossession Orders

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will establish a hardship fund to help prevent home repossessions of people unable to switch to mortgages with lower rates.

John Glen: The Government has already taken a number of measures aimed at helping people avoid repossession, including the Support for Mortgage Interest loan, which is available to help vulnerable homeowners meet their mortgage interest costs; and protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also has rules in place to protect existing borrowers who find themselves unable to remortgage. The rules prevent lenders from taking advantage of the customer’s situation, or treating them less favourably than other similar customers, including by offering less favourable interest rates or other terms. In addition, the FCA has put in place exemptions, which allow lenders to waive affordability requirements for existing customers that are remortgaging but not increasing the size of their debt. This means that all borrowers should be able to access remortgage products at competitive rates from their existing lender.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Housing: Ombudsman

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his answer of 9 January 2018 to Question 119694 on Housing: Ombudsman, if he will ask the Housing Ombudsman Service to make a statement on the (a) reasons why it did not meet its target that the average time taken to reach a final determination on complaints submitted in 2017-18 should be six months and (b) steps being taken to achieve this target in 2018/19.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The average case time for determining complaints by the Housing Ombudsman service was reduced from a nine month average in 2016-17, to eight months at the end of 2017-18. The Housing Ombudsman reports on determination times in its published Annual Report, which noted difficulty in recruitment and retention of temporary case workers impacting on this delivery. The Housing Ombudsman aims to reduce determination times further and is committed to achieving the six-month target in 2018-19. The steps it is taking to achieve this are set out in the Business Plan 2018-19 published and available on their website: https://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Business-plan-2018-19.pdf

Housing Ombudsman Service: Staff

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many FTE staff were employed by the Housing Ombudsman Service in each of the last four years; and how many such FTE staff were employed as (a) caseworkers, (b) adjudicators and (c) review managers in each of those years.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: As reported in the Housing Ombudsman’s Annual report and Accounts, the average annual FTE employed by Housing Ombudsman Service in the last four years is as follows:2014-152015-162016-172017-1851546168.2As at 31 March, the number of staff employed as a) Dispute Resolution Advisors, b) Adjudicators and c) Dispute Resolution Managers is as follows: FTE Caseworkers in post31/3/1531/3/1631/3/1731/3/18Adjudicators12.217.22024.5Dispute Resolution Advisor17.61816.812.2Dispute Resolution Manager423.96

Housing Ombudsman Service: Staff

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, on what date controls on the headcount at the Housing Ombudsman Service were imposed; and who authorised that decision.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: There are currently no controls on the headcount at the Housing Ombudsman. In 2010 controls were put in place on the headcount in line with MHCLG’s spending controls. These controls were approved by the Secretary of State at the time. In April 2017 the headcount controls were removed in line with the Department’s commitment to a collaborative partnership with its arm’s-length bodies, although the Housing Ombudsman is still expected to manage within its delegated pay budgets.

Housing: Ombudsman

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reasons a permanent Housing Ombudsman is not currently being recruited.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The recruitment is being reconsidered in view of the increasing importance of the Housing Ombudsman and we will be advertising the role in due course. Interim arrangements are in place to ensure the continued delivery of the Housing Ombudsman Service.

Housing Ombudsman Service: Standards

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will commission research into the (a) effectiveness and (b) usefulness of the requirement under the Localism Act 2011 that all complaints to the Housing Ombudsman Service should be through a designated person or designated tenant panel.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: It is very important that tenants have quick and easy ways to put things right when they have a problem. We will be publishing a Green paper shortly that will be considering these important issues for tenants.Access to swift and effective redress is important for all housing consumers and is why earlier this year we consulted on strengthening this across housing. We are considering the responses and will respond in due course.

Housing Ombudsman Service: Complaints

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will ask the Housing Ombudsman Service to publish data on the number of complaints that have been (a) made and (b) upheld against (i) Clarion Housing Group and its subsidiaries and (ii) Genesis Housing in each of the last four years.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The attached tables set out the complaints made and upheld against Clarion Housing Group and Genesis Housing in each of the relevant years. As Clarion was formed in 2016-17 following the merger of a number of housing associations, figures relating to their complaints are therefore broken down by individual landlord and for the group as a whole.One of the Housing Ombudsman’s strategic objectives is to support landlords and residents to resolve more complaints locally through early resolution. In 2017-18, 79 per cent of the complaints they dealt with were closed at this stage. In 2017-18, 7,087 cases were closed by the Housing Ombudsman, and of those, 5,467 were closed through local resolution while the complaint was going through the landlord’s complaints procedure. These cases did not need to go on to be formally determined by the Housing Ombudsman.  



Table showing complaints PQ 161505
(Word Document, 25.63 KB)

Housing Revenue Accounts

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his Answer of 6 July 2018 to Question 160268 on Housing Revenue Accounts, how many of the 104 eligible authorities are in the (a) South East, (b)  North West, (c) east of England, (d) West Midlands, (e) South West, (f) Yorkshire and the Humber, (g) East Midlands and (h) North East.

Kit Malthouse: Of the 104 local authorities with a Housing Revenue Account that are eligible to bid for the additional borrowing programme: (a) 29 are in the South East, (b) 4 are in the North West, (c) 20 are in the East of England, (d) 5 are in the West Midlands, (e) 11 are in the South West, (f) 3 are in Yorkshire and the Humber, (g) 2 are in the East Midlands, (h) 1 is in the North East.

High Rise Flats: Yorkshire and the Humber

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding will be allocated for the improvement of safety measures in tower blocks in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Kit Malthouse: The Government will fully fund the removal and replacement of unsafe Aluminium Composite Material cladding systems that have failed large scale tests, commissioned by Government in 2017 on social residential buildings 18 metres and over owned by councils and housing associations, with costs estimated at £400 million.On 3 July, we published on the Government website further details on how councils and housing associations can apply for the funding. The guidance confirms the scope of the fund, provides more detail on how it will operate and sets out the information required, when applying. Funding will be allocated on a building-by-building basis, once building owners have submitted applications.

Private Rented Housing: Discrimination

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what mechanisms are in place to hold landlords to account for discrimination in the private rented sector.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Under the provisions of the Equality Act 2010, agents and landlords must not advertise or let a property in a way which discriminates against individuals on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity. If a tenant can prove that they have been discriminated against on these grounds, they can bring legal proceedings against their landlord.It is important that these requirements are clearly understood and, on 26 June 2018, we published a new “How to Let “guide to help landlords better understand their rights and responsibilities. We also updated the “How to Rent” guide, which was first introduced in 2015, to support tenants to understand and exercise their rights.

Retail Trade: Ellesmere Port and Neston

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans to provide financial support to high streets businesses in Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency.

Jake Berry: High streets are a crucial part of our communities. The Government is determined to see our high streets thriving, both now and in the future. We want to see vibrant hubs where people live, shop, use services, and spend their leisure time.This is why we have announced that the Department will launch a call for evidence over the summer looking at the future of our high streets. We are establishing an expert panel of industry leaders to draw on their experience and expertise to diagnose the issues currently affecting our high streets, and advise on the best long-term approach to help their revival.The Government is investing £201.1 million in Growth Deals in the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership area. Growth allocations are creating up to 12,000 jobs and generating up to £280 million in public and private investment.

Leasehold: Reform

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to consult with (a) housebuilders and (b) residential property investors on the Government's proposals for reform of the leasehold system.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: In 2017, the Government published a consultation document to seek views leasehold reform. We received an exceptional response with over 6,000 replies, many from developers and investors. Since then, my Department has been engaging with a range of stakeholders as part of developing a detailed approach to implementing this policy.To help existing leaseholders the Law Commission is reviewing the law on enfranchisement with a view to making it fair, faster, and cheaper for leaseholders to extend their lease or buy their freehold. They are also considering whether there needs to be a ban on transmitting unfair terms when a lease is sold on.

Shorthold Tenancies: Evictions

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to provide additional protection to tenants facing eviction as a result of the end of an assured shorthold tenancy.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Under the Assured Shorthold Tenancy regime, which is now the most common form of tenancy in the private rented sector, tenants have a minimum of 6 months security of tenure. According to the English Housing Survey, 10 per cent of tenants moved because they were asked to leave or were given notice by their landlord. A landlord can only seek possession within the fixed term tenancy period by applying to the court for a possession in accordance with section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 on one or more of the grounds contained in schedule 2.Outside of the fixed term period, a landlord can evict a tenant using a Section 21 notice but only where the landlord has complied with certain legal obligations. These include protecting their tenants’ deposit in a Tenancy Deposit Protection scheme, providing Gas Safety Certificates, and also providing a copy of the Government’s ‘How to Rent’ guide.The Government is committed to making renting more secure. On 2 July, we launched a consultation on overcoming the barriers to longer tenancies in the private rented sector. We are seeking views on a three year longer tenancy model with a six month break clause to allow tenants and landlords to exit the agreement early if needed. The Government will consider the responses to the consultation and set out next steps later in the year. The consultation document is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/overcoming-the-barriers-to-longer-tenancies-in-the-private-rented-sector.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Living Wage

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has plans for his Department to be accredited by the National Living Wage Foundation in relation to paying the real living wage; and if he will make a statement.

Jake Berry: The Department has no immediate plans to seek accreditation from the National Living Wage Foundation in relation to paying the real living wage. However, the Department does qualify to apply for the referenced accreditation as we do not employ anyone, either nationally or in London, that earns less than the hourly living wage rate for the respective areas as defined by the National Living Wage Foundation. A table highlighting the Department’s lowest hourly rate of pay in comparison to the current National Living Wage hourly rate is shown below.  Real Living WageMHCLG Min Hourly Rate (Net Contractual Hours)MHCLG Min Hourly Rate (Gross Contractual Hours)London£10.20ph£13.16ph£11.59National£8.75ph£11.30ph£9.95

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 28 June 2018 on Building Safety Update, HCWS811, which enforcement measures have been granted to the joint expert inspection team to ensure the remediation of private sector high-rise residential buildings with unsafe ACM cladding.

Kit Malthouse: Under the Housing Act 2004, local authorities have powers to identify, assess and take enforcement action against owners of residential buildings in their area that are not acting responsibly in respect of hazards, and have a statutory duty to keep housing conditions in their area under review. The Joint Inspection Team will provide support and expertise to local authorities in exercising these enforcement powers for the remediation of private sector high-rise residential buildings with unsafe aluminium composite material cladding.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 28 June 2018 on Building Safety Update, HCWS 811, how many of the plans are expected to by funded by building owners; and what estimate he has made of the level of costs to be incurred by  leaseholders.

Kit Malthouse: We have made it clear that we expect building owners and industry to explore all options to protect leaseholders from incurring the costs associated with replacing unsafe cladding. These options may include warranties, insurances or legal action. We are encouraged that NHBC have accepted the claim made by Galliard Homes in relation to New Capital Quay and will be funding the required remediation work.Some in the sector, such as Barratt Developments, Legal & General and Taylor Wimpey, are doing the right thing and taking responsibility. We want others to follow their ​lead and we will continue to encourage them to do so. We will consider what further action may be necessary if they do not.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 28 June 2018 on Building Safety: Update, HCWS 811, how many private sector student accommodation buildings that are unlikely to meet Building Regulations guidance.

Kit Malthouse: As of 14 June 2018, 32 private sector student residential buildings with Aluminium Composite Material cladding systems have failed Building Research Establishment large-scale system tests and are unlikely to meet current Building Regulations guidance. We publish the most recent testing programme figures every month in a data release. The latest figures can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-programme-monthly-data-release-june-2018.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 28 June 2018, titled Building Safety Update, HCWS811, when the ministerial-chaired taskforce plans to confirm remedial plans for all private sector buildings.

Kit Malthouse: The ministerially-chaired taskforce will actively oversee the remediation of private sector buildings with Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding systems, including ensuring that remediation plans are put in place swiftly across all private sector buildings with ACM cladding systems. It will work with the Local Government Association, National Fire Chiefs Council, London Councils, local authorities and industry representatives. Progress on private sector remediation will continue to be published in the department’s monthly data release, the latest figures can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-programme-monthly-data-release-june-2018.

Housing Ombudsman Service

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many complaints the Housing Ombudsman (a) received and (b) resolved in favour of the complainant in the last 12 months.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: In 2017-18, the Ombudsman made formal decisions about 1,712 complaints.Of those 1,712 complaints, 179 were not fully investigated because they were outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. Of the remaining 1,523 cases that were within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction, the Ombudsman upheld 729. In a further 130 cases, during the course of the Ombudsman’s consideration the landlord acknowledged that a mistake had been made and offered to put things right in a manner which the Ombudsman felt to be fair and so did not issue a finding of fault.

Homelessness

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much local authorities in England spent on homelessness services in each year since 2009-10; and how much of that money was spent on temporary accommodation.

James Brokenshire: The Department publishes data on local authorities’ revenue expenditure and financing. This includes spend on homelessness and temporary accommodation categories in table RO4 of individual authority outturn data. Data is provided to the Department by local authorities and can be found for years since 2007-08 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing.

Private Rented Housing: Building Regulations

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the written statement of 28 June 2018, on Building Safety Update, HCWS811, of the 297 total private sector buildings assessed to be unlikely to meet current Building Regulations guidance, a) how many have informed residents and b) what measures his department has taken to ensure that all residents have been informed.

Kit Malthouse: Shortly after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, we issued guidance on the interim safety measures that should be put in place in high-rise buildings with unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding systems. This includes instructions to building owners to communicate with residents and the local fire and rescue service about the safety of their homes and what they should do in the event of a fire.All residents of buildings where unsafe ACM cladding systems have been found should have been informed by their landlords about the steps their landlords or building owners are taking to make their buildings safe. We would encourage residents of affected buildings to speak to their building owner about these measures to ensure residents’ safety. Residents should also be aware of what to do in the event of a fire and if they are unsure they should speak to the landlord or freeholder.

Domestic Violence: Refuges

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many victims of domestic abuse who presented at domestic violence refuges were unable to access domestic violence refuge services in (a) Southwark, (b) London and (c) England, in each of the last five years.

Nigel Adams: The Government does hold the data requested. Domestic abuse is a life-shattering and abhorrent crime that nobody should have to suffer. The Government is committed to protecting victims of domestic abuse, and since 2015 we have provided almost £889,000 to Women’s Aid for two key projects, Routes to Support and No Woman Turned Away. Routes to Support (formerly UK Refuges online) is part-funded by the Government and is a UK-wide online database containing information about domestic abuse and other violence against women services. No Woman Turned Away provides caseworker support to women facing difficulties in accessing refuge. We are continuing to fund these vital projects in 2018/19.We are also currently reviewing the provision of domestic abuse services, including refuge, in England. To inform our review, we have commissioned Ipsos MORI to run an audit of domestic abuse service delivery. This will give us a picture of provision across England, enabling us to understand what impact services are having and to identify gaps in provision.

Members: Correspondence

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Colne Valley, sent on 23 May 2018, in reference to the National Planning Policy Framework.

Jake Berry: A response to this correspondence has been sent.

Judicial Review: Christchurch Borough Council

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will place in the Library a copy of the written evidence submitted by his Department to the High Court in respect of the judicial review being brought by Christchurch Borough Council scheduled for a hearing on 30 July 2018.

Rishi Sunak: The written evidence submitted by the Department to the High Court in respect of this judicial review is already available to all the parties concerned – that is the Court, the Claimant, and the Interested Parties – and this matter is currently before the Court. I will arrange for a copy of the evidence to be placed in the Library of the House following the Court’s determination of this matter

Council Tax: Dorset

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what consultations he is undertaking with (a) Christchurch Borough Council and (b) East Dorset District Council on the content of potential draft secondary legislation on future harmonisation of council taxes in Dorset.

Rishi Sunak: Before making any new secondary legislation we intend to invite comments on those preliminary views from the shadow authorities for the areas concerned, which will be responsible for setting the 2019-20 council taxes – in the case of Dorset from the Shadow Dorset Council, the members of which include the members of East Dorset District Council, and from the Shadow Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole Council, the members of which include the members of Christchurch Borough Council.

Local Government: Dorset

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the timetable is for the Government's publication of draft secondary legislation on local government reorganisation in Dorset; and what account the Government is taking of the consequences for that timetable of the timing of the hearing on 30 July 2018 of the judicial review application being brought by Christchurch Borough Council on local government reorganisation in Dorset.

Rishi Sunak: We are currently in discussion with representatives of the Dorset councils about the content of secondary legislation to support implementation of the local government reorganisation on 1 April 2019 for which Parliament has legislated, and intend to lay the necessary secondary legislation as soon as practicable.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Rural Areas

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made on the rural proofing of its policies.

Rishi Sunak: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government takes the concerns of all communities into consideration in the development of its policies, including recognising the unique circumstances of rural areas. For example, we are undertaking a review of local authorities' relative needs and resources to address concerns about the fairness of current funding distributions. Working closely with both local government and other government departments, including DEFRA as champions for rural proofing, we are conducting a thorough, evidence based review of the costs faced by all authorities. This includes how factors such as rurality, sparsity and other geographical features affect the cost of delivering services across the country.

Planning Permission: Aviation

Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on the consideration that local planning authorities should give to the position of general aviation aerodromes in a network when determining planning applications to remove such aerodromes from use.

Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on the mixed-use development of aerodromes.

Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether planning for General Aviation is included in the new National Planning Policy Framework.

Kit Malthouse: The revised draft National Planning Policy Framework recognises the significant contribution that aviation makes to economic growth and the importance of maintaining a national network of general aviation facilities. It requires local authorities, when preparing their Local Plans, to take account of the role of airfields in meeting business, leisure, training and emergency service needs. It also highlights the importance of making the most effective use of land, especially previously developed land, and the general value of mixed-use scheme. The revised National Planning Policy Framework will be published this Summer.Planning guidance supporting the Framework makes clear local authorities should consider the interconnectivity between airfields of different sizes and that they should have regard to the Aviation Policy Framework.Planning law requires that applications for planning permission must be determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The weight to be given to other material considerations, which may include the role of airfields in serving business and other needs, is a matter for the decision maker to determine in each case.

Ministry of Defence

Germany: Veterans

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions his Department has had with (a) UK military veterans and (b) representative organisations in Germany on the Status of the Forces Agreement with the German Government; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the status of UK military veterans residing in Germany under that agreement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Holding answer received on 13 July 2018



The Ministry of Defence (MOD) coordinated a meeting with the British Forces Germany community, including veterans, to discuss Citizens Rights in November 2017 and British Forces Germany routinely engages with Royal British Legion Soldiers, and SSAFA - The Armed Forces charity, the key UK veteran's agencies in Germany.The MOD continues to work closely with colleagues from across Government to deliver a smooth and orderly exit from the European Union and an ambitious future partnership.

Army: Recruitment

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2018 to Question 152260 on Army: Recruitment, if he will update the spreadsheet detailing paid advertisements on Facebook for the calendar year 2016 to include the target cities and regions for each advertisement where such locations were specified.

Mark Lancaster: As advised in the response I provided the hon. Member on 14 June 2018 to Question 152260, information on Social Media advertisements is not held centrally and is provided to the Department by an external contractor. The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Army: Recruitment

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people aged (a)15, (b)16 and (c) 17 applied to join the British Army in (i) 2015, (ii) 2016, (iii)  2017 and (iv) to date in 2018.

Mark Lancaster: The number of people aged 15, 16 and 17 who applied to join the Army in the requested years is shown in the following table: Recruiting YearAge at ContactNumber2015-16177,290166,930153,7402016-17179,400168,500154,9802017-18177,900167,230154,130 Notes:Data is a single service estimate and not an official statistic, figures for 2017/18 are provided with low confidence due to implementation issues with the Defence Recruiting System between November 2017 and March 218. Data includes Regulars, Reserves, Other Ranks and Officers. For presentational purposes the figures have been rounded to ten to improve the clarity of output and convey an appropriate level of precision to users.

Army: Recruitment

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place the Capita brief provided to the advertising agency commissioned to produce the This is Belonging advertising campaign launched in January 2018 in the Library.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I will consider placing a copy of the Capita brief provided to the advertising agency in the Library of the House once Ministry of Defence officials have reviewed it in order to ensure there are no commercial sensitivities.

Germany: Armed Forces

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of members of the armed forces who will be stationed in Germany in support of NATO.

Mark Lancaster: On current plans there will be approximately 140 UK defence personnel based at NATO Headquarters and installations in Germany after 2019. The exact number will fluctuate due to the routine rotation of personnel, and, in the longer term, the number is also subject to change as part of the ongoing NATO adaptation programme that will affect the distribution of NATO and UK personnel across the Alliance.

Defence

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the independent report written by the hon. Member for Ludlow entitled Growing the contribution of defence to UK prosperity, published by his Department on 9 July 2018, if he will issue a formal response to each recommendation made in that report.

Guto Bebb: I am grateful to my hon. friend the Member for Ludlow for his work in undertaking this review, which supports both the National Security Objective to Promote Prosperity as well as the goals set out the Industrial Strategy White Paper published last November. This is an important piece of work. The Government will now consider his recommendations in detail and publish a response in due course.

Patrol Craft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2018 to Question 160710 on Patrol Craft, whether his Department exempted the orders for Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessels from international competition under Article 346 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Guto Bebb: Yes.

Armed Forces: Housing

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of houses rented by his Department have been unoccupied in each of the last five years; and how much rent his Department has paid for those houses in each of those years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Armed Forces: Housing

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2018 to Question 132273 on Ministry of Defence: Empty Property, if he will list the (a) parliamentary constituencies and (b) local authority areas those void properties are in.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: A list of the void properties by Local Authority can be found in the table below. The Department does not record constituency details for Service Family Accommodation (SFA). The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.  Local AuthorityVoid SFAALNWICK32ANGLESEY, ISLE OF52ASHFORD10AYLESBURY VALE71BARNET5BIRMINGHAM5BRACKNELL FOREST76BRECKLAND119BRIDGNORTH117BRIGHTON AND HOVE3BRISTOL, CITY OF1BROADLAND1BROMLEY13BROXTOWE33CAMDEN2CANTERBURY48CARADON19CARDIFF5CARLISLE21CARRICK1CASTLE MORPETH20CHARNWOOD17CHERWELL49CHESTER55COLCHESTER110COTSWOLD23COUNTY OF HEREFORDSHIRE11DARLINGTON46DOVER48EAST DEVON30EAST DORSET16EAST HAMPSHIRE319EAST LINDSEY30EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE44EXETER4FAREHAM16FOREST OF DEAN17FYLDE93GLOUCESTER31GOSPORT104GREENWICH50GUILDFORD107HAMBLETON234HARROGATE126HARROW34HART168HAVANT1HERTSMERE58HILLINGDON118HOUNSLOW19HUNTINGDONSHIRE118KENNET317KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA3KERRIER59KING'S LYNN AND WEST NORFOLK122KINGSTON UPON THAMES26LEEDS1LICHFIELD31MAIDSTONE25MEDWAY156MELTON18MERTON4MID BEDFORDSHIRE155MID SUFFOLK44NEW FOREST13NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE6NORTH CORNWALL6NORTH DEVON22NORTH DORSET146NORTH KESTEVEN216NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE1NORTH SHROPSHIRE90NORTH TYNESIDE6NORTH WILTSHIRE274NUNEATON AND BEDWORTH8PEMBROKESHIRE54PETERBOROUGH122PLYMOUTH174POOLE15PORTSMOUTH63POWYS45PRESTON10PURBECK39RESTORMEL28RICHMOND UPON THAMES11RICHMONDSHIRE268RUGBY22RUNNYMEDE10RUSHMOOR223RUTLAND193SALISBURY554SCARBOROUGH10SEFTON1SEVENOAKS2SHEPWAY82SHREWSBURY AND ATCHAM5SOUTH BEDFORDSHIRE3SOUTH CAMBRIDGESHIRE126SOUTH HAMS14SOUTH KESTEVEN28SOUTH OXFORDSHIRE127SOUTH SOMERSET65SPELTHORNE19ST. EDMUNDSBURY65STAFFORD29STRATFORD-ON-AVON14SUFFOLK COASTAL82SURREY HEATH104SWINDON8TAUNTON DEANE13TELFORD AND WREKIN47TEST VALLEY160TEWKESBURY48THANET2THE VALE OF GLAMORGAN92THREE RIVERS13UTTLESFORD25VALE OF WHITE HORSE152WAKEFIELD1WANDSWORTH9WEST BERKSHIRE38WEST DEVON4WEST LINDSEY51WEST OXFORDSHIRE113WEST WILTSHIRE145WESTMINSTER11WINCHESTER90WINDSOR AND MAIDENHEAD98WOKING12WOKINGHAM76WREXHAM1WYCOMBE106YORK37Void SFA Total8,458

Defence: Modernisation

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to publish the conclusions of each of the four work streams under the Modernising Defence Programme.

Gavin Williamson: We are aiming to share headline conclusions from the Modernising Defence Programme before the summer recess.

Type 26 Frigates

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if will list each of the long-lead items required for the first eight T26 frigates.

Guto Bebb: The Ministry of Defence has ordered long-lead items for the first batch of three Type 26 Frigates. This included investment in the wider supply chain and covered key equipment purchases including the diesel generators, gas turbines and steering gear systems.We will define the list of long-lead items required for the remaining five ships and place the orders at the appropriate time.

Ministry of Defence: One Public Estate Programme

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under - Secretary of State and Minister for Defence People and Veterans of 9 July 2018, Official Report, column 706, whether it is his policy that the One Public Estate principles apply to public land that has its freehold vested within an association.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Public land disposals are managed in accordance with Government policy and Her Majesty's Treasury guidelines to obtain best value. Where land is owned by an Association, the Department would expect that they will continue to work closely with the Local Authority.

Russia: Football

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made on the effectiveness of the training delivered by the Royal Marines to the England football team prior to the 2018 World Cup campaign.

Mark Lancaster: As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said, England's World Cup campaign has been a great journey that's made the country proud. The Royal Marines are honoured to be associated with the first England team to reach the final four in 28 years and we are all very proud of what they achieved.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships have been utilised by the UK and its allies in support of counter-narcotics operations since 2010.

Mark Lancaster: As part of the enduring commitment to Atlantic Patrol Tasking (North), Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ships continue to provide active support to counter-narcotic operations with the US Coast Guard. RFA ships may have undertaken additional support to such activity elsewhere To obtain specific details of all counter-narcotic operations would require examination of individual ship records and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ministry of Defence: Contracts

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the quality of service provided by contracts outsourced by his Department.

Guto Bebb: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 23 April 2018 to Question 136457.



136457 - WQnA on MOD Contracts
(Word Document, 22.05 KB)

Defence: Modernisation

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his oral contribution of 9 July 2018, Official Report, column 690, when he plans for the substantive findings of the Modernising Defence Programme to be published.

Gavin Williamson: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Defence: Finance

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his oral contribution of 9 July 2018, Official Report, column 690, whether the £800 million referred to came from the nuclear contingency; and if he will make a statement.

Gavin Williamson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to her on 16 April 2018 to Question 134829.



Trident Submarines
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Army

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where each headquarters is of regiments from (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The headquarters for the regular Regiments associated with each Devolved Nation are:Scotland:The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards - Edinburgh19th Regiment Royal Artillery - TidworthScots Guards - LondonThe Royal Regiment of Scotland - EdinburghWales:The Queen's Dragoon Guards - CardiffWelsh Guards - LondonThe Royal Welsh - CardiffNorthern Ireland:Irish Guards - LondonThe Royal Irish Regiment - Holywood

Veterans

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where each (a) resettlement and (b) rehabilitation centre is for people leaving the armed forces.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: There are ten resettlement centres for people leaving the Armed Forces, run by the Careers Transition Partnership on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The locations of the centres are shown at https://www.ctp.org.uk/contact-us.Medical rehabilitation for all Armed Forces personnel, including those preparing to leave the Services, is provided by the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, currently located at Headley Court in Surrey. When personnel leave the Armed Forces their healthcare becomes the responsibility of the NHS, although the MOD continues to provide a range of services in support of veterans.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of recruits to the armed forces came from (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) England in each of the last 5 years.

Mark Lancaster: The requested information is provided in the attached tables, based on single Service estimates. In the time available, it has not been possible to provide information for the Army. I will write to the hon Member with that information in due course.



Proportion of Armed Forces recruits from the UK
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Trident Submarines

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the value of efficiencies created for the Dreadnought class ballistic missile submarine as a result of cooperation with the United States.

Guto Bebb: The UK has benefited greatly from the long-standing collaboration on nuclear deterrence and nuclear propulsion with the US. Under the 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement, both nations are able to exchange information and material which enables us to maintain safe, secure and effective nuclear stockpiles, propulsion and weapons systems. Collaboration and co-operation brings enormous advantages for both parties.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that the roll-out of universal credit does not result in people in rented housing being in arrears.

Justin Tomlinson: Research shows that many people come onto Universal Credit with pre-existing rent arrears.We also know that arrears are usually temporary and the majority of claimants do succeed in paying their rent, managing their monthly payments and clearing their arrears over time. In our research, the proportion of Universal Credit claimants who were in arrears at the start of their claim fell by a third after four months.We have made changes to help people financially until their first payment. Advances are available to provide financial support and these can now be repaid over a course of 12 months and can consist of up to 100 per cent of the indicative monthly award. We have also abolished waiting days and now provide 2 weeks of housing support to claimants moving to Universal Credit from Housing Benefit.

Members: Correspondence

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to respond to the emails sent by the hon. Member for Slough dated (a) 31 May 2018 and (b) 3 July 2018 referenced TD4223.

Justin Tomlinson: A full reply was sent by email to the hon. Member for Slough on 12.07.18.

Universal Credit: Internet

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how often staff in her Department that monitor the online journals for universal credit are notified when someone posts on their online journal.

Alok Sharma: The case manager or work coach receives a notification in real time each time a claimant submits an entry to their online journal. Journal entries are monitored daily as part of our case management approach.

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that all disability and medical assessment centres are accessible to all constituents.

Sarah Newton: Ensuring our assessment services are accessible to all claimants is a priority in line with the standards under the Equality Act 2010. Where customers are not able to access an assessment at one of our assessment centres, our assessment providers provide an alternative method of delivering the service. For example they may arrange an appointment at an alternative nearby assessment centre or arrange a home visit.

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the maintenance of access to services in the event that a contracted assessment centre is rendered temporarily inaccessible.

Sarah Newton: Where customers are not able to access an assessment at one of our assessment centres due to the centre being temporarily inaccessible, assessment providers will provide an alternative method of delivering the service. For example, they may arrange an appointment at an alternative nearby assessment centre or arrange a home visit.

Cold Weather Payments

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) Arfon constituency, (b) Wales and (c) the UK are eligible for cold weather payments.

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in (a) Arfon, (b) Ynys Mon, (c) Aberconwy and (d) Dwyfor Meirionnyd constituency are eligible for cold weather payments.

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which weather station her Department uses to determine eligibility for cold Weather Payments in (a) Arfon, (b) Aberconwy, (c) Ynys Mon and (d) Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency.

Justin Tomlinson: The Cold Weather Payment scheme is administered at weather station level rather than any other standard GB geography such as constituency level. The number of claimants eligible for Cold Weather Payments is estimated at a weather station level and cannot be broken down further. The coverage area for each weather station is determined by the Met Office which assesses the most appropriate weather station for each postcode area. Cold Weather Payments are triggered for the eligible claimants when the average temperature recorded at the weather station has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, 0oC or below over seven consecutive days, during the Cold Weather season (November to March). The Arfon constituency covers all or part of the following postcode areas: LL33, LL54-LL61. These postcode areas are covered by the Mona weather station. The number of eligible claimants at Mona weather station for the 2017-18 Cold Weather season was approximately 12,000. The Aberconwy constituency covers all or part of the following postcode areas: L22, LL24-28, LL30-34. These postcode areas are covered by the following weather stations: Rhyl, Capel Curig, Mona. The total number of eligible claimants at these weather stations for the 2017-18 Cold Weather season was approximately 47,000. The Ynys Mon constituency covers all or part of the following postcode areas: LL58-LL78. These postcode areas are covered by the Mona weather station. The number of eligible claimants at Mona weather station for the 2017-18 Cold Weather season was approximately 12,000. The Dwyfor Meirionnyd constituency covers all or part of the following postcode areas: LL21, LL23, LL35-LL49, LL51-55, SY20. These postcode areas are covered by the following weather stations: Lake Vyrnwy, Trawsgoed, Capel Curig, Mona. The total number of eligible claimants at these weather stations for the 2017-18 Cold Weather season was approximately 24,000. For Wales, the number of eligible claimants for the 2017-18 Cold Weather season was approximately 244,000. For the United Kingdom, the Department for Work and Pensions does not produce estimates for Cold Weather Payments issued in Northern Ireland. Cold Weather Payments in Northern Ireland are administered by the Department for Communities. The number of eligible claimants for the 2017-18 Cold Weather season in Great Britain was approximately 3,888,000. Notes The number of eligible claimants given here is an estimate as information on the exact number of those eligible for Cold Weather Payments is not readily available. These estimates are produced at the start of the Cold Weather season. The number of eligible claimants is not necessarily the total number of individuals or households benefitting from a Cold Weather Payment. Any individuals making a joint claim for one of the qualifying benefits, such as a couple living together, will receive one payment between them rather than one payment each. Estimates of Cold Weather Payments are published weekly during the Cold Weather season. The latest published estimates can be found at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cold-weather-payment-statistics-2017-to-2018 Links between postcode areas and weather stations are reviewed before the start of a new Cold Weather season. Links between postcode areas and weather stations for the 2017-18 Cold Weather season can be found at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cold-weather-payment-statistics-2017-to-2018 The estimated number of eligible claimants for Wales is adjusted to account for weather stations with coverage spanning the border of Wales and England.

Universal Credit

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2018 to Question 158224 on Universal Credit, whether her Department collects information on the average waiting time to process a revised decision notice and amend a universal credit claim.

Alok Sharma: Revised decisions as a result of a Mandatory Reconsideration are held on different systems depending upon whether the claim is a Universal Credit Live Service or Full Service one. To obtain the data for Universal Credit Full Service would incur disproportionate cost. For Universal Credit Live Service claims, although data on decision making is held, this does not include the average clearance time for a Mandatory Reconsideration or time taken to implement the revised decision.

Social Rented Housing

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 June 2018 to Question 154700 on 21 June 2018 on Social Rented Housing, what information her Department holds on universal credit claimants in rent arrears.

Justin Tomlinson: We do not hold individual information on claimants with rent arrears. However, we do have research which shows more broadly that people come onto Universal Credit with existing rent arrears. From April 2018, those on Housing Benefit will receive an additional two weeks housing benefit when they start their UC claim. This helps to prevent rent arrears as claimants move to the new monthly payment cycle. We know that arrears are usually temporary and the majority of claimants do succeed in paying their rent, managing their monthly payments and clearing their arrears over time. We are currently carrying out further analysis of this issue with a number of housing providers, to investigate and understand the true level of rent arrears for their tenants, what is causing them and any impacts Universal Credit may be having. It will be published when completed.

Women against State Pension Inequality

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she last met with representatives of WASPI women.

Guy Opperman: Since taking up the post, the Secretary of State has had no meetings with representatives of the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign.

Social Security Benefits: EU Nationals

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that safeguards are in place for eligible EU citizens’ to access welfare (a) during the implementation period and (b) after the conclusion of that implementation period of the UK leaving the EU.

Alok Sharma: The draft Withdrawal Agreement published in March guarantees the rights of EU citizens and their family members living in the UK, and UK nationals living in the EU. As set out, EU citizens living in the UK by 31 December 2020, along with their family members, will be able to stay and continue their lives, with the same access to work, study, benefits and public services that they enjoy now.

Children: Maintenance

Paul Masterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish the interim results of the further survey commissioned by his Department on Direct Pay clients.

Justin Tomlinson: There are no plans to publish any interim findings of the Direct Pay survey. The final report is due to be published in autumn 2019.

Child Maintenance Service

Paul Masterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department issues guidance to hon. Members on the Child Maintenance Service to assist them with constituency casework.

Justin Tomlinson: Guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/child-maintenance There is dedicated support for MP’s available from: MP Hotline for Child Maintenance Service on 0800 232 1940 Email the Child Maintenance Service MP Team at: mp.inbox.cmg@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

Universal Credit

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what alternative provision her Department plans to put in place for hon. Members' staff to use in place of the Basildon Service Centre for universal credit full service enquiries.

Alok Sharma: Prior to the roll-out of Universal Credit Full Service in their constituency, we write to each hon. Member. The letter explains the implicit consent arrangements for MPs and also provides the telephone number and email address of the District Manager in the constituency, so that MPs can contact District Managers if there are urgent constituent cases that need attention. This is the best route to raise issues on behalf of constituents and works well because MPs’ offices can establish local relationships.

Universal Credit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people making a claim for universal credit have applied for an advance payment in the most recent 12 months for which data are available; and how many of those people have been (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful in such an application.

Alok Sharma: We do not hold the information requested. Applications for a Universal Credit advance payment can be made in person, by telephone or (since July 2018) online. For applications made in person or by telephone, only applications that are successful are recorded.To collect information on unsuccessful applications made in person or by telephone would incur a disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have had universal credit payments reduced as a result of receiving carers allowance.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of universal credit have had their payments reduced as a result of receiving disability living allowance.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of universal credit have had payments reduced as a result of receiving personal independence payment.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of universal credit have had payments reduced as a result of receiving attendance allowance.

Alok Sharma: Certain types of income are disregarded when calculating a claimant’s Universal Credit award, including; Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, and Attendance Allowance. Therefore, no payments should be reduced as a result of people claiming these benefits.The information requested concerning those claimants whose payments are affected as a result of Carer’s Allowance is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. While Carer’s Allowance can impact a Universal Credit award, claimants do receive a supplementary element towards their total Universal Credit award, known as a Carer Element.

Universal Credit: Domestic Violence

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the introduction of universal credit on the ability of victims of domestic violence to claim the benefits.

Justin Tomlinson: Universal Credit continues to support victims of domestic violence to claim benefits through a range of measures. These include special provisions for temporary accommodation, easements and same day advances. One-to-one Work Coaches will also signpost domestic violence victims to expert third-party support, and we can provide split payments where individuals in these cases request and where it would be helpful to do so.

Social Security Benefits: Motor Neurone Disease

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will hold discussions with (a) the Motor Neurone Disease Association and (b) people who have motor neurone disease on extending the special rules for terminal illness to include motor neurone disease.

Sarah Newton: I will be meeting representatives of the Motor Neurone Disease Association and the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Motor Neurone Disease, Madeleine Moon MP, on 19 July.The Government is committed to supporting the needs of terminally ill claimants and ensuring that benefit rules are applied sensitively. The special rules for people who are terminally ill are not condition-specific. Claimants who have Motor Neurone Disease (MND) already claim under the special rules, for example of the 1,565 people in receipt of Personal Independence Payment with MND as their primary disabling condition at the end of April 2018, 650 are receiving it under the special rules.We will continue to keep the rules on entitlements to benefits under review to ensure they are working effectively and meeting the needs of claimants both now and in the future.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of industrial injuries disablement benefit claims decisions are changed at the mandatory reconsideration stage.

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of industrial injuries disablement benefit claims decisions are changed on appeal.

Sarah Newton: Between April 2014 and September 2017, 75,000 industrial injuries disablement benefit decisions (new claims only) have been made. During this time period 3 per cent of claim decisions were overturned at the appeal stage. The information on Mandatory Reconsiderations is not readily available and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit: Overpayments

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claimants are re-paying benefit overpayments; what the (a) mean and (b) median value is of those overpayments; and what the average period is for those benefit payments to be recovered in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claimants are re-paying benefit overpayments at 40 per cent from their standard allowance in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has a duty to protect public funds and an obligation to ensure that, overpaid benefit payments are recovered in accordance with the appropriate social security legislation. I can confirm that there were 60,936 UC claimants who had a deduction from their UC as a recovery against a benefit overpayment within the last 31 days. This total includes both past and new overpayments. The mean value of the outstanding balances is £1,116.98, the median figure is £328.29. These cases include a small number of high value debts. The information on the average recovery period and the number of claimants re-paying overpayments at 40 per cent of their standard allowance is not available, and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.

Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims have been rejected under each exception to the two child limit for (a) child tax credits and (b) universal credit.

Alok Sharma: There are no circumstances in which a claimant has been refused an exception where they meet the conditions and have provided relevant evidence to support their request.

Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many families receive a child disability element in their child tax credit award; and what proportion of those families have a child who  qualifies for a lower rather than a higher child disability addition under universal credit.

Sarah Newton: The number of families receiving a child disability element in their child tax credit award is available on the HMRC website here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-and-working-tax-credits-statistics-finalised-annual-awards-2016-to-2017 Information on the proportion of those families with a child who qualifies for a lower rather than a higher child disability addition under universal credit is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many families receive a disabled child premium via income support; and of those families receiving that support how many have a child who will qualify for a lower rather than a higher child disability addition under universal credit.

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many families receive a disabled child premium via a job seekers allowance award; and of those families receiving that award how many have a child who will qualify for a lower rather than a higher child disability addition under universal credit.

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of families with a disabled child claiming means tested benefits or tax credit who will have a lower entitlement under universal credit, disregarding any transitional protection payments; and what estimate she has made of the average change in entitlement by families so affected.

Sarah Newton: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit: Housing

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 6.14 of Autumn Budget 2017, what progress has been made on making it easier for claimants to have the housing element of their award paid directly to their landlord.

Justin Tomlinson: In December 2017, and as announced as part of the budget measures, we made changes to the guidance to ensure that when Private Sector Housing Benefit claimants move on to Universal Credit, we know whether they had their rent paid directly to their landlord previously, and why. This allows our work coaches to determine whether a managed payment to the landlord for the Universal Credit claim may need to be applied too, and will prompt a conversation with the claimant. We changed the process following a request for an Alternative Payment Arrangement (APA) for Managed Payments to Landlords from Private Rented Sector Landlords. This means that following a landlord’s request for a Managed Payment to Landlord, the claimant has seven days to provide proof that the rent arrears do not exist, or give a good reason why the Managed Payment should not be put in place. If the claimant does not take action, then the landlord’s application will be approved and we will inform the landlord of the final decision of the APA request. The change in process has considerably simplified and sped up the APA request for landlords. We have retained a safeguard for the claimant to challenge the APA request e.g. where the claimant is in dispute with the landlord.

Universal Credit: Housing

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will take steps to notify private landlords, with a tenant’s permission, of the outcome of universal credit award decisions.

Justin Tomlinson: This functionality already exists in Universal Credit. Because of the new digital approach in Universal Credit, and because communications can be instantaneous, we can, for the first time, offer a system of explicit consent which is easy to use, fast, efficient, and completely secure. Claimants can provide explicit consent by making an entry in their online journal, this includes consent required to provide a landlord with information regarding the outcome of their universal credit award decision.

Private Rented Housing: Rents

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of enabling arrears in the private rented sector to be deducted from benefits after a tenant moves from one property to another.

Justin Tomlinson: We have not made any such assessment. The Government recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of people who are in debt. The aim of the Universal Credit deductions policy is to protect vulnerable claimants by providing a ‘last resort’ repayment method to recover arrears of essential services. The deduction of rent arrears in Universal Credit is intended to protect the current tenancy and prevent vulnerable claimants from being made homeless.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Railways: Trees

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) Network Rail and (b) the Secretary of State for Transport on Network Rail's programme to target all leaf fall trees for removal alongside its tracks.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs met the Chief Executive of Network Rail and the Minister of State for Transport on 9 May. Following this discussion the Department for Transport commissioned an independent review to look at Network Rail’s vegetation management regime.   The Government’s Tree Champion will discuss this review with the Minister of State for Transport in due course.

Coastal Erosion: Scotland

David Duguid: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans next to meet with representatives of the Scottish Government to discuss coastal erosion in the north-east of Scotland.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Secretary of State has no plans to meet representatives of the Scottish Government to discuss coastal erosion in North East of Scotland. Responsibility for management of coastal erosion is devolved to the governments of the four nations of the UK. Coastal Erosion in this region is a matter for the Scottish Government.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of badger culling on the control of bovine TB.

George Eustice: The Chief Veterinary Officer’s advice on the outcome of 2017 cull indicates that industry-led culling can deliver the level of effectiveness required to be confident of achieving bovine TB disease control benefits.   A peer-reviewed scientific study showed a significant reduction in TB breakdowns after two years of badger control in the first two cull areas. Culling was associated with 21% reduction in TB incidence in the Somerset cull area and a 58% reduction in the Gloucestershire cull area. The paper is available at the following link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.3254   Assessments of the effectiveness of all badger culls undertaken from 2013 to 2017 have been published and can be found on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bovine-tb-controlling-the-risk-of-bovine-tb-from-badgers

Plastics: Waste

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of plastic pollution on flora and fauna in oceans.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: A five-year-long Defra-funded study found that microplastics can cause harm to marine life. In response to this evidence, we introduced one of the world’s strongest microbead bans. We are continuing to look at other sources of microplastics, and have a monitoring programme running looking at microplastics in sediment and biota.   The UK has a widely respected UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme in place. This scheme investigates the causes of death of stranded cetaceans around the UK coast, improving our understanding of, and ability to tackle, key threats. In the UK, ingestion of marine litter has been implicated in the death of one individual (a Cuvier’s beaked whale in 2015) since the inception of the UK strandings programme in 1990 (this covers the examination of 3586 individuals over that time period).

Animal Welfare

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to bring forward separate legislative proposals relating to (a) introducing five-year sentences for animal cruelty and (b) animal sentience.

George Eustice: I refer my Hon Friend to the reply given to the Honourable Member for Bristol East, on 27 March 2018 PQ UIN 133919.

Dangerous Dogs

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations his Department has received from (a) organisations, (b) charities and (c) individuals on Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in the last 12 months.

George Eustice: Defra receives regular letters, emails and queries relating to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 from a range of organisations, charities and individuals. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee is currently holding an inquiry on the issue and Defra has given evidence.

Livestock: Dogs

Gillian Keegan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to promote responsible dog ownership near livestock.

George Eustice: Defra has been working closely with the police and local authorities and provided clear guidance to them on how they can tackle irresponsible dog ownership, including dealing with dog attacks on livestock. This has included promoting the Local Environmental Awareness on Dogs (LEAD) initiative to encourage partnership working between police and local authorities and to address minor incidents involving dogs before they escalate. We have also updated the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs, which encourages owners to keep their dog on a lead around livestock or to avoid such situations, in order to make it more accessible to readers.

Veterinary Medicine

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has plans to allocate grant funding for the recruitment of additional vets to maintain animal welfare standards after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: There are no plans to allocate grant funding for the recruitment of vets. Defra continues to work in partnership with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, British Veterinary Association and others to ensure that the UK maintains a sufficient and well-qualified veterinary workforce, particularly as the UK prepares to leave the EU.

Veterinary Medicine

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of additional veterinarians working in meat hygiene that will be required to maintain animal welfare standards after the UK leaves the EU.

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of additional veterinarians working in meat hygiene that will be required to certify products of animal origin for export after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: The range of products requiring export certification is dependent on the UK’s future relationship with the EU. Defra is working to ensure that there will be sufficient Official Veterinarians for any increase in export certificates.

Veterinary Medicine

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has plans to maintain the level of professional qualifications required for veterinarians working in meat hygiene after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: As the regulator of the veterinary profession, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons is responsible for setting the standards required to practice veterinary surgery in the UK. Official Veterinarians also work alongside meat hygiene inspectors who are accredited by awarding bodies such as the Royal Society for Public Health. These are standards that we will seek to maintain after the UK leaves the EU.

Veterinary Medicine

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons on the mutual recognition of veterinary professional qualifications between the EU and the UK after the UK leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: Defra and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons have discussed the importance of maintaining a highly qualified veterinary workforce as the UK leaves the EU. This includes how EU-qualified veterinary surgeons will continue to practice to existing high standards in the UK.

Public Footpaths

Sir Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to continue funding National Trails beyond the current financial year.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Discussions between Natural England and the trails partnerships on their future funding settlements are ongoing. These discussions are in the context of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act Committee’s recommendation to move towards a more sustainable funding model in the long term whilst maintaining a high quality experience for the user.

Public Footpaths

Sir Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including National Trails in the ongoing review of National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Significant portions of existing national trails fall within boundaries of existing national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty. These important assets can expect to receive attention through the Glover Review, which will enable all stakeholders to express their views on the future of these places.

Public Footpaths

Sir Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote use of National Trails.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Since 2013 the promotion of national trails and the ‘acorn’ (registered trademark) has been carried out by Walk Unlimited, a social enterprise, which champions the network through its website www.nationaltrail.co.uk. It works with the individual trail partnerships who remain responsible for providing information on their trail to the national site and for local promotion. Natural England also encourages individual trail partnerships and the emerging England Coast Path partners to consider promotion of both the individual trails and stretches of those trails and the promotion of the family of national trails.

Public Footpaths

Sir Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of people who use National Trails every year.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The most recent estimate from 2013 is that at least 70 million visits are made each year to places passed through by a national trail.

Recycling

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the cost of recycling borne by (a) manufacturers and producers and (b) consumers.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Department does not currently hold this information on the proportion of the costs of all recycling borne by manufacturers, producers and consumers. However, under the current Packaging Waste Regulations packaging producers and manufacturers financed £72.6 million in 2017 towards the costs of recycling packaging waste.   In the 25 Year Environment Plan we have committed to reform the producer responsibility system (including the Packaging Waste Regulations) to incentivise producers to take greater responsibility for the environmental impacts of their products. More detail will be announced in the Resources and Waste Strategy, which will be published later this year.

Livestock: Transport

Craig Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether under the terms of the 6 July 2018 statement of the Government and its reference to a common rulebook the UK will be able to ban live animal exports for slaughter from January 2021 without there being consequences for trade.

George Eustice: The Government’s proposal for a common rulebook on goods only relates to those technical and product safety rules necessary to provide for a frictionless border. The proposal does not extend to wider single market legislation nor animal welfare and would not fetter our abilities to restrict or ban live animal exports. The White Paper published on 12 July 2018 explains: “By being outside the CAP, and having a common rulebook that only applies to rules that must be checked at the border, the UK would be able to have control over new future subsidy arrangements, control over market surveillance of domestic policy arrangements, an ability to change tariffs and quotas in the future, and the freedom to apply higher animal welfare standards that would not have a bearing on the functioning of the free trade area for goods – such as welfare in transport and the treatment of live animal exports.”

Wood-burning Stoves

Dr Paul Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2018 to Question 120689 on Wood-burning Stoves, what steps he is taking through (a) planning regulations and (b) otherwise to reduce the primary emissions of harmful particulate matter from the use of wood-burning stoves.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Planning is the responsibility of the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). My Department is working with MHCLG on their update on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The NPPF requires that planning policies should sustain compliance with and contribute towards EU limit values or national objectives for pollutants.   On 22 May, we published our Clean Air Strategy for consultation which aims to cut air pollution and save lives. The strategy includes plans to introduce new environmental legislation which will ensure only the cleanest domestic fuels will be available for sale and only the cleanest stoves will be available to buy and install in England, preventing 8,000 tonnes of harmful particulate matter from entering the atmosphere each year. Cleaner fuels and stoves produce less smoke, less soot and more heat.   We will be launching a further detailed consultation later this year on our proposals to phase out the most polluting domestic fuels.   Ahead of introducing new legislation, my Department has been working with industry sectors to introduce voluntary initiatives. This has seen the introduction of Ecodesign Ready labelling by the stove industry in February 2017 which brings in emission standards ahead of the EU Regulatory deadline of 2022.   We have also worked with the wood fuel industry on the Ready to Burn scheme which was launched in Autumn 2017. The scheme informs consumers about the importance of using clean, quality wood-fuel to improve air quality which will reduce harmful emissions.   In addition, my Department have also been working with other industry sectors, such as chimney sweep organisations to provide advice to consumers in their own homes. This has resulted in an information guide (https://tinyurl.com/y8clbglu) which provides clear advice on the procedures to follow when lighting a stove, to minimise smoke emissions.

Wetlands: Conservation

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what duties are placed on local authorities to protect Ramsar sites from damage as a result of development.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The National Planning Policy Framework clarifies that as a matter of Government policy, Ramsar sites receive the same high level of protection as those sites designated under Habitats and Birds Directives. Accordingly, in determining planning proposals, local authorities should refuse planning permission if significant harm on a Ramsar site cannot be avoided, mitigated, or as a last resort, compensated.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what notifications his Department has received of outbreaks of the stain 9D of Bovine TB of the strain 9D and which locations those notifications came from.

George Eustice: Genotype (strain) 9:d of Mycobacterium bovis represents about 3% of all isolates of the bacterium cultured every year from cattle herds sustaining a fully confirmed bovine TB incident in England. The vast majority of herds infected with this strain of M. bovis are located in Wiltshire (the natural or endemic home range of genotype 9:d).

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Rural Areas

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on the rural proofing of its policies.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The implications for rural areas are at the core of Defra’s policy making as illustrated by, for example, the recent consultation on the future for food, farming and the environment (www.gov.uk/government/consultations/the-future-for-food-farming-and-the-environment) and our 25 Year Environment Plan(www.gov.uk/government/publications/25-year-environment-plan). As the champion for rural proofing across Government, we are working with other departments to ensure the interests of rural communities and businesses are considered throughout the Government’s policy making process.

Food and Plants: Imports

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) value and (b) volume of (i) plant material, (ii) meat or animal material and (iii) other food products imported at each point of entry into the UK; and what records of those imports are make at each point of entry.

George Eustice: In 2017 from non-EU countries, the UK imported approximately: £4 billion of ‘plants which are food’, weighing 3.7 million tonnes.£4 billion of ‘meat and animal products’, weighing 1 million tonnes.£6 billion of ‘other food products’, weighing 7.1 million tonnes. Ports keep records of all consignments of imported food of animal origin and high-risk food not of animal origin (food not of animal origin subject to EU sampling legislation) on the TRACES computer system. Other government bodies such as HMRC also keep some records of food imports. It should be noted that HMRC only collect details of imports of goods at specific points of entry from non-EU countries – currently the same data is not collected for movements of goods from EU member states at specific points of entry.

Animals and Plants: Imports

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with HMRC on the capacity of its customs computer system for plant and animal imports to process potential increased volumes of applications after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: Defra has an extensive programme of work focused on preparing for a range of scenarios to make sure we are ready for the point when the UK leaves the EU. Ministers and officials regularly liaise with colleagues across Government including with HMRC. This includes discussions on the UK’s systems for the management of trade in animal and plant materials. The precise nature of our future relationship with the EU is still to be determined and is the subject of negotiation.

Marine Conservation Zones: West Sussex

Gillian Keegan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which marine life and seabed habitats have been identified for protection in the proposed marine conservation zone at Selsey Bill and the Hounds.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The features that have been identified for protection at Selsey Bill and the Hounds are:   Bracklesham Bay geological featureShort-snouted seahorseSubtidal mixed sedimentsSubtidal sandPeat and clay exposuresHigh energy infralittoral rockModerate energy infralittoral rockModerate energy circalittoral rockLow energy infralittoral rock Full details regarding the proposed designation of Selsey Bill and the Hounds can be found in the Third Tranche of Marine Conservation Zones consultation. Please see link here:https://consult.defra.gov.uk/marine/consultation-on-the-third-tranche-of-marine-conser/.

Bread: Labelling

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his Department's policies of the recommendations contained in the Honest Crust campaign published by the Real Bread Campaign and the charity Sustain published November 2017.

George Eustice: We are satisfied that compliance with EU Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers and General Food Law Regulation (EC) 178/2002 together ensure that the labelling and advertising of food must not mislead the consumer. EU Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 ensures that pre-packaged loaves display a full ingredient list, while the exemption of loaves sold at the point of production is made in the interests of small businesses and bakeries, reducing unnecessary regulatory burden while retaining essential, relevant information for the consumer.EC Regulation 1333/2008 adequately defines the approved additives and their conditions of use in bread. These requirements, together with guidance on terms such as ‘hand-made’, ‘Farmhouse’ and ‘home-made’ used by food businesses and trading standards officers, already provide robust protection to consumers against misleading practices. However if a consumer does think that they are being misled by bread labelling, they should seek advice from their local trading standards office. A restricted number of additives are permitted in sourdough bread under EC Regulation 1333/2008 – there are no plans at present to change these. There are many products on the market that do not have definitions set out in legislation, however there are general rules in place to protect consumers. The Bread & Flour Regulations 1998 contain a few, limited definitions but the focus of the legislation is on the fortification of white and brown flour with certain nutrients, mostly for restorative purposes. There are no current plans to include a legal definition for sourdough within the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 but the baking industry itself may consider agreeing a code of practice about what should be described as a UK sourdough bread.

Home Office

Immigrants: Detainees

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of families where family members are held in separate immigration detention centres.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office does not hold the information you have requested in a reportable format. The information requested could only be supplied at disproportionate cost.

Visas: Applications

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he has plans to increase the (a) staff and (b) resources of his Department to ensure that decisions on applications for visas are made within target times.

Caroline Nokes: UK Visas and Immigration continually reviews its global visa operation to improve performance and ensure value for money while maintaining excellent customer service.The UK is open for business and visa applications from key emerging economies are up. Tourists and business travellers are always welcome and we continue to attract the brightest and the best for work or study.

Metals and Stone: Theft

Graham P Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in what form his Department records incidents of (a) metal and (b) stone theft from heritage buildings; and how many of those incidents to place in each month of this year.

Victoria Atkins: The Office of National Statistics publishes statistics on metal thefts annually, based on information provided by police forces. The most recent statistics, for the year ending March 2017 were published in December 2017. Statistics relating to the year to March 2018 will be published later this year.Thefts of stone are not recorded separately in the crime statistics published by the Office of National Statistics. Such thefts will be incorporated within the overall statistics relating to thefts.

Metals: Theft

Graham P Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2018 to Question 153803 on Metals: Theft, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ban squatting in commercial properties to prevent the theft of (a) metal and (b) other commodities from those properties.

Mr Nick Hurd: We have no plans to legislate to ban squatting in commercial properties to prevent the theft of metals of other commodities. The police can already take action if those who squat in such premises commit crimes when entering or staying in such premises, including crimes relating to criminal damages and thefts.

Metals: Theft

Graham P Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of metal theft crimes were committed alongside incidences of illegal occupation of commercial premises.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Department does not hold this information. Statistics relating to metal theft are published annually by the Office for National Statistics, but this does not include information relating to the circumstances or specific locations of these thefts.

UK Border Force: Heathrow Airport

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her Answer of 2 July to Question 157630 on UK Border Force: Heathrow, how many times UK Border Force did not meet its target for processing non-EEA nationals at Heathrow in the first six months of this year and what the comparable figure was for 2017.

Caroline Nokes: Border Force service standards are that 95% of British and other European Economic Area (EEA) passengers, from the point they join an immigration queue, are seen by an officer within 25 minutes. For non-EEA passengers, the service standard is that 95% of passengers are seen by an officer within 45 minutes.We do not publish data on performance at individual ports. Published data on the clearance of passengers at the border can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-may-2018.Data relating to Border Force activity at Heathrow is published on the Heathrow Airport website at https://www.heathrow.com/company/company-news-and-information/performance/airport-operations/border-force

Fracking: Protest

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what additional funding his Department has allocated to local police forces for the policing of fracking sites.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office awarded £900,000 in Special Grant funding to the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner in 2014/15, and £1.4 million in Special Grant funding to the Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner in 2017/18, for the costs of policing anti-fracking protests.The Home Office carefully considers requests for additional funding through Special Grant.

Official Visits: USA

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the cost that will be incurred by South Yorkshire Police Force of the official visit of the President of the United States.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office has made no estimate of the costs to South Yorkshire Police of providing support for the President’s visit. Forces supplying officers to support major events can be recompensed on a full cost recovery basis by the hosting force through the police's established mutual aid process.

British Nationality: Children

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to support people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds with the cost of applications for child citizenship.

Caroline Nokes: We do not currently waive application fees for children to register as British citizens, but, where a child is in care, the Local Authority concerned may pay the fee if they consider it to be in the child’s best interests. Over the course of the summer, I will be considering what further support the Home Office could provide to children applying to register for British citizenship.

Passports

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2018 to Question 158978 on Gemalto, whether his Department has had discussions with governments of other countries on the performance of Gemalto in providing passports for those countries.

Caroline Nokes: The decision to award the new passport contract to Gemalto was supported by extensive due diligence. As part of this process, officials received unanimously positive references on Gemalto’s performance and reliability in providing passports, ID cards and residence permits to a range of countries.

Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of adequacy of conditions for people detained at Campsfield House immigration detention centre following the visit of the hon. Member for Romsey and Southampton North on 28 June 2018.

Caroline Nokes: The Government treats detainee welfare as a matter of the utmost seriousness, and expects the highest standards from those who manage the detention estate on its behalf. Conditions at Campsfield House immigration removal centre, and all detention facilities, are kept under regular review.Independent scrutiny is a vital part of assurance that our removal centres are secure and humane. We will continue to implement actions in response to recommendations made by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons and by the centre’s Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) in their published reports. The IMB’s report for 2016, published in April 2017, recognised that Campsfield House is generally well run and that it is a safe and secure environment for detainees who are treated with respect, care and consideration.

Harassment: West Midlands

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of recent trends in the level of reported incidents of stalking and harassment in (a) Wolverhampton and (b) the area covered by the West Midlands Police.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office publishes police recorded crime open data, which contains stalking and harassment offences. Trends in recorded stalking and harassment in Wolverhampton and the West Midlands can be found in Community Safety Partnership and Police Force Area level open data. The most recent recorded crime open data tables can be found in the link below:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables

Asylum: Sudan and South Sudan

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refugees and asylum seekers have been returned to (a) Sudan and (b) South Sudan in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Caroline Nokes: The number of returns from the UK to (a) Sudan and (b) South Sudan is published in table rt_05 (returns data tables, volume 5) in ‘Immigration Statistics, year ending March 2018’. This can be broken down by asylum and non-asylum cases. The data are available from the GOV.uk website at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/709325/returns5-mar-2018-tables.odsAsylum cases refer to those who have claimed asylum at some point, regardless of the outcome of the application.

Police: ICT

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the Government has made of the potential for machine-learning algorithms to aid in police investigations.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office has not undertaken a specific assessment of the potential for machine-learning algorithms to aid police investigations. This is an operational matter for policing. We are however, supporting policing to test how new and emerging technologies can be used across all aspects of crime and policing, including within police investigations.Most notably, through the Police Transformation Fund, we are investing in a number of projects. For example, we are funding the Digital Intelligence and Investigation (DII) Programme. As well as mapping forces current DII capabilities, the Programme is engaging experts in the technology sector to propose technical solutions, both existing and for development, which can aid policing in the management, collation and analysis of data at each stage of the investigative process.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of people from the Windrush generation who live in (a) Lewisham, Deptford constituency and (b) the London borough of Lewisham.

Caroline Nokes: The data requested is not available. Information relating to individual Windrush migrants is not recorded by constituency.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Immigration, of 4 June 2018, Official Report, column 22 on students wrongly accused of cheating in the Test of English for International Communication, what proportion of students who remain in the UK will be covered by the review.

Caroline Nokes: We are committed to reviewing the position for those who remain in the UK who have live litigation. As a result of the Immigration Act 2014 there is now only a right of appeal where claims raising asylum, humanitarian protection or human rights claims are refused.Similar provisions are set out in the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016. Some of those refused as a result of an allegation of ETS fraud have made a Human Rights claim and will have an in country right of appeal if refused (unless the claim is clearly unfounded).

Immigration Controls: Airports

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to improve the performance of Border Force at UK Airports in clearing (a) EEA and (b) non-EEA passengers through immigration controls.

Caroline Nokes: Border Force has taken a number of steps to help make the customer journey as smooth as possible while continuing to protect and secure the border. This includes additional proactive planning alongside the airport operators and airlines, and new passenger-facing communications tools that are designed to promote faster ways to travel.Border Force is maximising staff available at the busiest times of day, increasing the number of border officers on e-gates, and deploying 220 additional staff over summer, mostly at Heathrow. Earlier this year, Border Force launched a nationwide campaign to recruit up to 1,000 Border Force officers.

Immigration

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the application for leave to remain in the UK submitted on 19 October 2017 under Immigration Case Ref 922984523 will be determined.

Caroline Nokes: A decision on the application (with the correct reference number 22984523) is scheduled to be dispatched by 23 July 2018.

Immigration: Carers

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to bring forward proposals on the status of Zambrano carers after the UK has left the EU.

Caroline Nokes: As set out in paragraph 6.12 of the Statement of Intent on the EU Settlement Scheme published on 21 June 2018, provision in the Immigration Rules will be made for a non-EU citizen who is the primary carer of a British citizen in the UK and who currently derives a right of residence from wider EU law (a Zambrano carer). Further details will be provided in due course on the new status which will be available to them.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if his Department plans to require EU citizens arriving in the UK for the first time during the implementation period and intending to apply for pre-settled status to also register their stay.

Caroline Nokes: We are considering how we can most effectively implement a registration scheme for EU citizens arriving during the implementation period, alongside the EU Settlement Scheme, and will be setting out more details in due course.

Police: Firearms

Chris Elmore: Whether his Department plans to support the arming of rural police officers; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd: It is for chief officers to determine the number of armed officers in their areas, based on a thorough assessment of threat and risk. The policy in this country has long been that the police should not generally be armed. This is vital in promoting good relations with the public and the community they serve.

Fire and Rescue Services and Police: Cooperation

Lee Rowley: What steps his Department is taking to encourage greater collaboration between the police and fire services.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government is working with police and fire services to implement provisions in the Policing and Crime Act 2017 that enable collaboration to go further and faster, including the new statutory duty to collaborate and enabling PCCs to take on fire and rescue governance, where a local case exists.

Undocumented Workers

Eddie Hughes: What steps he is taking to ensure that illegal migrants cannot profit from working in the UK.

Caroline Nokes: In the Immigration Act 2016, we made illegal working a criminal offence so that wages can be seized as proceeds of crime and introduced tougher sanctions on rogue employers. We have also recently introduced additional safeguards to protect legal migrants seeking employment who do not have the necessary documentation to establish their lawful immigration status.

Undocumented Workers

James Morris: What steps he is taking to ensure that illegal migrants cannot profit from working in the UK.

Caroline Nokes: In the Immigration Act 2016, we made illegal working a criminal offence so that wages can be seized as proceeds of crime and introduced tougher sanctions on rogue employers. We have also recently introduced additional safeguards to protect legal migrants seeking employment who do not have the necessary documentation to establish their lawful immigration status.

Counter-terrorism

Kevin Foster: What steps he is taking to ensure that the UK's security services have the resources required to counter terrorism.

Sajid Javid: In 2015, the Government committed to spending more than £2 billion per year on counter-terrorism and investing 30% more over the Spending Review period, including £1.4 billion investment in new capabilities for the security and intelligence agencies.In light of the changing threat picture set out in our strengthened and updated CONTEST strategy, we have also allocated an additional £50m funding to Counter-Terrorism Policing this year.

Shoplifting

David Hanson: What steps he is taking to reduce shop theft.

Victoria Atkins: I chair the National Retail Crime Steering Group with the British Retail Consortium. This brings retailers and the police together to ensure an effective response to crimes affecting retailers and includes work to reduce shop thefts.

Scotland Office

Agriculture: Scotland

Lesley Laird: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the support available to Scotland’s agriculture, food and farming sectors to ensure that all business transactions and procedures remain consistent after the UK leaves the EU.

Lesley Laird: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the support available to Scotland’s manufacturing and construction sectors to ensure that all business transactions and procedures remain consistent after the UK leaves the EU.

Lesley Laird: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the support available to Scotland’s banking and financial sectors to ensure that all business transactions and procedures remain consistent after the UK leaves the EU.

Lesley Laird: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the support available to Scotland’s life sciences sector to ensure that all business transactions and procedures remain consistent after the UK leaves the EU.

David Mundell: I have frequent discussions with Cabinet colleagues covering all sectors of the economy, constructively feeding into the regular talks this Government has been having with the EU on the future framework, outlining our positions on a wide range of topics covering the future security partnership and the future economic partnership. We are working on delivering for Scotland across the board. On agriculture, food, and farming, the Agriculture Bill will deliver on our manifesto commitment to provide stability for farmers as we exit the EU. On manufacturing and construction, we are determined to ensure that the UK continues to be one of the most competitive locations in the world. On Financial Services, we will be seeking a bold and ambitious free trade agreement of greater scope and ambition than any such agreement before it, so that it covers sectors crucial to our linked economies. On life sciences, we are seeking a comprehensive system of mutual recognition to ensure that, as now, pharmaceutical products and medical devices only need to undergo one series of approvals in one country.

Food Banks: Scotland

Lesley Laird: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he has discussions with food bank service providers in Scotland in the last twelve months; and if he will make a statement.

David Mundell: I commend the work undertaken by foodbanks across the UK. I meet with stakeholders to discuss a wide range of issues including food poverty in Scotland.

Furs: Imports

Lesley Laird: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for International Trade on extending existing fur import bans to cover all species exploited by the fur trade; and if he will make a statement.

David Mundell: I speak with the Secretary of State for International Trade regularly on a range of issues. Existing EU regulations mean that some skin and fur products may never be legally imported into the UK for commercial use. These include cat and dog fur and products as well as seal skins and products from commercial hunts. Regulations banning the import of these furs will remain in force after the UK has left the EU, as these will be converted into UK domestic law through the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.

Food Banks: Scotland

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he plans to visit a food bank in July 2018.

David Mundell: I currently have no plans to visit a food bank in my capacity as Secretary of State for Scotland in July 2018.

Royal Bank of Scotland: Closures

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with representatives of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) on the potential effect on local communities of the proposed closure of RBS branches.

David Mundell: The Royal Bank of Scotland’s decision to close bank branches and publication of its data are commercial decisions for the Royal Bank of Scotland. However, the impact on communities must be understood, considered and mitigated where possible. The industry’s Access to Banking Standard, launched in May 2017, commits banks to ensure personal and business customers are better informed about branch closures and the reasons for them closing, along with the options they have locally to continue to access banking services, including specialist assistance for customers who need more help. The Access to Banking Standard is monitored and enforced by the independent Lending Standards Board. At Autumn Budget 2017, the Chancellor also wrote to the Post Office and UK Finance to ask them to raise public awareness of the banking services available at the Post Office for individuals and SMEs. The Government is committed to widespread free access to cash. LINK, the organisation that runs the UK’s ATM network, operates a Financial Inclusion Programme, which subsidises ATMs in areas that have poor access to cash and would not otherwise be viable. LINK has committed to protecting all free-to-use ATMs which are a kilometre or more from the next nearest free-to-use ATM. The Payment Systems Regulator Limited (PSR) has also committed to using their powers to maintain widespread free access to cash should they need to.

Scotland Office: Visits Abroad

Lesley Laird: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what overseas visits he has (a) been on since the beginning of 2018 and (b) planned for the rest of 2018 to promote the interests of (i) Scotland and (ii) Scottish trade.

David Mundell: I visited Hong Kong and Japan in February and plan to visit New Zealand at the end of July. We will continue to look for further overseas visit opportunities in 2018 to promote the interests of Scotland and Scottish Trade.

Automation: Scotland

Lesley Laird: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of automation on jobs in Scotland.

David Mundell: Automation is one of the global trends which will transform our future, changing jobs and businesses across the country, and we want people to be able to capitalise on these opportunities.Addressing this, Artificial Intelligence and data is one of the first 4 Grand Challenges set out in our Industrial Strategy to put the UK at the forefront of the industries of the future, ensuring that we take advantage of major global changes, improving people’s lives and the country’s productivity.Embedding AI across the UK will create thousands of good quality jobs and drive economic growth in all four nations. By one estimate, AI could add £232bn to the UK economy by 2030.The Life Sciences sector is a particular strength for Scotland, where there are over 400 health life sciences sites, with 15,000 jobs generating £3.2bn in turnover. The Artificial Intelligence and data mission under the Grand Challenge will transform the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases by 2030, and give opportunities for collaboration between the third sector, academia and industry to harness the power of AI and data technologies, building on the £210 million of funding announced for the Data to Early Diagnostics and Precision Medicine Industrial Strategy Fund.Industrial development and Life Sciences are devolved responsibilities, but we have committed in the Life Sciences Sector Deal to a regional approach to implementing the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy, by working closely with the devolved administrations and cluster organisations.

Cabinet Office

Civil Service

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many times Ministers have attended Civil Service Alumni Network events since 2016.

Oliver Dowden: There has been no ministerial attendance at Civil Service Alumni events since 2016. This Group is co-chaired by a Senior Civil Servant and a member of our Alumni network, with meetings taking place quarterly.

Vote Leave: Election Offences

Catherine West: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Electoral Commission on their findings that Vote Leave breached electoral spending rules; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: The Electoral Commission is independent of the Government and accountable to Parliament through the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission. It does not report directly to Ministers. I have not had any discussions with the Electoral Commission on the content of their ongoing investigations.

Intelligence Services: Detainees

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the last review was made of the Consolidated Guidance to Intelligence Officers and Service Personnel on the Detention and Interviewing of Detainees Overseas, and on the Passing and Receipt of Intelligence Relating to Detainees.

Mr David Lidington: I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the Prime Minister’s Written Ministerial Statement of 28 June (HCWS808).

Government Departments: Billing

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July to Question 160071 on Payment Performance Data, and with reference to the Second Joint report from the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Work and Pensions Committees of Session 2017–19 on Carillion, HC 769, when he plans to publish Payment Performance Data consolidated across all Government Departments, Executive Agencies and Non Departmental Public Bodies.

Oliver Dowden: As of 1 April 2015 all central government departments, including their executive agencies and non departmental public bodies, have been required to report on their prompt payment performance. They must publish the percentage of their invoices paid within 5 days and within 30 days on a quarterly basis on their GOV.UK pages. The performance of central government departments in paying undisputed invoices for 2015/16 can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/central-government-prompt-payment-performance.

General Elections: Proof of Identity

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has estimated the potential cost of introducing voter ID requirements in every polling station throughout England for the next scheduled general election.

Chloe Smith: The Government is committed to making sure that our electoral system is fit for the future. Voter ID is an important step towards ensuring the British public has greater confidence in that system and our democracy. The independent Electoral Commission is undertaking a detailed statutory evaluation of the 2018 voter ID pilots. The Government will carefully consider the Commission’s report when it is published, alongside any other relevant data before confirming and costing any next steps.

Elections: Freedom of Information

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2018 to Question 150180 on Elections: Freedom of Information, what steps the Government plans to take to (a) maintain the secrecy of voting and (b) ensure that voters can not be identified as a result of bringing Returning Officers under the Freedom of Information Act.

Chloe Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on Wednesday 18 June 2018 - PQ150180. As is usual, the Government would fully consult on the practical implications of such a change, including appropriate protections for sensitive information

Government Departments: Information Officers

Catherine West: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether there are standardised cross-department pay scales for the post of Press Officer in each government department.

Oliver Dowden: There is not currently a standardised cross-government pay scale for Press Officers as pay for this role, like all others in delegated grades (AA-G6), is delegated to departments.

Government Departments: Procurement

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to achieve the Conservative Party manifesto commitment of tendering 35 per cent of Government spending to UK-based SMEs.

Oliver Dowden: This Government is committed to supporting small businesses and we aspire for 33% of Government spending to go to SMEs. In April I announced a number of measures to help achieve this, and we have already streamlined our procurement processes to assist small businesses, and we continue to focus on breaking down the barriers that might deter SMEs from bidding for Government contracts.

Ministry of Defence: Cybercrime

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans further cyber security training for the Secretary of State for Defence; and whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Defence on cyber security.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what cyber security training has been undertaken by the Secretary of State for Defence.

Mr David Lidington: The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) offers access to cyber security advice and support in order to help protect information and prevent cyber attacks.

Department for International Trade

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the export value potential of the UK offshore wind industry.

Graham Stuart: The Department for International Trade (DIT) makes regular assessments of the export potential for offshore wind and actively supports UK suppliers to access identified opportunities.Our most recent estimate suggests an opportunity of between £1 and £2 billion up to 2020, mainly in European markets but increasingly from Asia and other geographies.DIT works with key UK suppliers, foreign Governments, sector focussed trade associations and procuring authorities to increase exports in the offshore wind sector.In addition, UK Export Finance (UKEF) support is available for UK exporters for all of the renewable energy sector and welcomes new applications for support. Since 2015, UKEF has provided support on contracts worth over £200m to UK exporters in the offshore wind sector.

Arms Trade: Indonesia

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 123992 to Question 123992 on Indonesia: Arms Trade, whether the arms granted in the licenses to Indonesia where used in the Indonesian provinces of (a) Papua or (b) West Papua.

Graham Stuart: All decisions to approve export licences to Indonesia are considered on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria (Consolidated Criteria). Decisions are based on the most up-to-date information and analysis available, including reports from our overseas network.We have no information to suggest that UK supplied equipment to Indonesia has been used in a way which is inconsistent with the Consolidated Criteria. We do not routinely monitor where, within a jurisdiction, goods are used after a licence has been granted. However, we will revoke any licences that we assess to be no longer consistent with the Consolidated Criteria, for example because of changed circumstances in the export destination.

Australia: Type 26 Frigates

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the Government press release, PM hails biggest Naval defence contract for a decade, published on 28 June 2018, if he will provide further detail on the calculations for the value of the Global Combat Ship Australia contract valued at £20 billion.

Graham Stuart: The PM announced on the 28 June 2018 that BAE Systems’ Type 26 Global Combat Ship Australia had been selected as the design for Australia’s £20 billion Future Frigate programme. The details of the calculations for the Future Frigate Hunter Class programme are the business of the Australian Government and negotiations with industry.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Internet: Business

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that internet service providers remove incorrect information relating to business locations when informed of errors by affected people.

Margot James: The Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force on 25 May. The new legislation updates our data protection framework, and includes stronger rights for data subjects in relation to the processing of their personal data. The GDPR gives individuals the right to request that a data controller erases personal data concerning them without undue delay where the individual has withdrawn their consent. The GDPR also gives people the right to have inaccurate personal data relating to them rectified by a data controller without undue delay. Guidance on how to request erasure and rectification has been produced by the Information Commissioner's Office and published on their website at ico.org.uk.

Charities: Data Protection

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the General Data Protection Regulation on organisations operating on a not-for-profit basis; and what steps he is taking to minimise administrative costs placed on those organisations as a result of the General Data Protection Regulation.

Margot James: The UK exercised its ability to derogate from the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) through the Data Protection Act 2018 to create a proportionate data protection regime which is robust and protects the rights of individuals, whilst providing legal certainty for organisations.  An impact assessment of the derogations to GDPR exercised by the government was published in 2017, and is available at the link below.  https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/664329/General_Processing_Impact_Assessment.pdf

CCTV

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what protections there are to ensure that a personal CCTV system located in a residence or business does no film people on public property; and what recourse there is in the event that an owner of such a CCTV system does not provide film material of people on public property taken with that system when requested to do so.

Margot James: The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) regulates and enforces the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) which covers images recorded by CCTV cameras. The DPA places obligations on individuals and organisations to process personal data in a lawful, fair and transparent manner. The ICO has a number of tools available to ensure compliance with data protection rules which include criminal prosecution, non-criminal enforcement and audits. For those who commit serious breaches there are significant financial penalties including fines up to £18 million or 4% of global turnover that can be applied as well as the backstop of criminal prosecution.

Members: Correspondence

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will respond to the letter of the hon. Member for Glasgow North of 26 April 2018, reference PG4747.

Margot James: A letter was sent to the Hon member on 11th July.

Public Service Broadcasting

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that viewers can easily find public service content outside of the main electronic  programming guide.

Margot James: The Government recognises the value and importance of high quality public service content and the need for this to be widely accessible to viewers. That is why under the Digital Economy Act 2017, Ofcom are required to publish a report which looks at the ease of finding and accessing PSB content across all platforms, including those outside of the main electronic programme guide. Ofcom will consult on this issue soon and the final report must be published before December 2020.

House of Commons Commission

House of Commons: Catering

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many Catering Services team staff are on each pay grade; and how many are at each such pay grade by gender and ethnicity.

Tom Brake: The total number of House of Commons employees in the Catering Services team is 255. The table sets out the number of females in that team and the number who have declared themselves as being from BAME background. Numbers below 10 have been redacted to ensure anonymity.Pay Grade  Total  Female  Female %  BAME  BAME %  SCS / A–E  25  15  60%  *  *  CGA1 – CGC  35  13  37%  *  *  CGD1  28  13  46%  10  36%  CGD2  73  29  40%  22  30%  CGE / CGCM  94  46  49%  51  54%255  116  45%  *  *

Members: Data Protection

Chi Onwurah: To ask the House of Commons Commission, what assessment it has made of the effect of the General Data Protection Regulation on the ability of hon. Members to carry out their work.

Tom Brake: As part of its preparations for GDPR, the House Service recognised the impact of the new legislation on Members and procured a contract to deliver training, guidance, templates and an advice line to offer support to Members and their offices. Presentations and advice on GDPR have also been included at regional constituency open days since September 2017.The House Service has worked closely with DCMS and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on the provision of updated guidance and subject specific case studies, including scenarios such as sending newsletters to constituents and others, appropriate use of constituents’ contact details, and dealing with complex requests for access to personal data.In May, letters (together with the case studies, guidance and frequently asked questions) were sent to Members from the Chair of the Administration Committee and Managing Director of Research and Information, and from the Leader of the House.Further work has been planned to update existing guidance for Members and their staff on the application of the Data Protection Act 2018, which received Royal Assent on 23 May.The Government has responsibility for conducting formal assessments of the impact of legislation and DCMS carried out an impact assessment of the overall Data Protection Bill in September 2017. (It can be found here: https://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA17-006.pdf).

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Assembly: Members

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2018 to Question 161114, what representations she has received other than in written form from political parties in Northern Ireland on the subject of cutting MLA pay; and if she will publish the substance of such representations.

Mr Shailesh Vara: As the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee on 4 July, she has had a number of meetings with party leaders and Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly that have included discussion of MLA pay and does not feel it appropriate to make public the contents of private meetings.